Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note issued to investors on Sunday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of IPG opened at $27.36 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.4% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 80,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after purchasing an additional 4,241 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,277,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,041,000 after purchasing an additional 157,695 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 48.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 41,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 13,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.4% during the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,582 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.