Advisor OS LLC Takes $430,000 Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Advisor OS LLC purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.03 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.89 and its 200 day moving average is $29.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.11. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.