Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Stock Rating Lowered by Morgan Stanley

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) was downgraded by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $28.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $34.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 6.48% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on IPG. Bank of America lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.25.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG opened at $29.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $35.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.28.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,491,000 after purchasing an additional 105,858 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 405,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,236,000 after acquiring an additional 49,509 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 989,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,281,000 after acquiring an additional 129,215 shares during the period. Cowen AND Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $871,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $32,620,000. 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.