Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 65,739 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 324,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,739 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.09% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $10,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 64,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,084 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 204,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 706,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,355,000 after purchasing an additional 108,267 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 7.2 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.10 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.01 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.62.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.57.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.