Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report published on Wednesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the subject of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG opened at $26.07 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $25.81 and a 1 year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $215,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 311.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 137,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 104,420 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 127.2% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 298,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,426,000 after buying an additional 166,839 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 35.2% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 52,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 13,633 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc provides advertising and marketing services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Media, Data & Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising & Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications & Experiential Solutions. The Media, Data & Engagement Solutions segment provides media and communications services, digital services and products, advertising and marketing technology, e-commerce services, data management and analytics, strategic consulting, and digital brand experience under the IPG Mediabrands, UM, Initiative, Kinesso, Acxiom, Huge, MRM, and R/GA brand names.