Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Cut to Hold at Argus

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on IPG. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.30 and a 200-day moving average of $29.82. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CSS LLC IL purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $280,000. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 167,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,696,000 after buying an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,670,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $130,860,000 after buying an additional 267,879 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,445,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,523,000 after acquiring an additional 294,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $627,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.