Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 1,663 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lessened its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 49.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,663 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 70.3% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 253,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,008,000 after purchasing an additional 104,514 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 613,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,401,000 after buying an additional 12,431 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 122,533 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,876,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 41,555 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 2,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,070,781 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,869,000 after acquiring an additional 74,843 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $27.00 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.40 and its 200-day moving average is $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

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 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.