StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

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

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $26.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.58. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

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.