Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.2% during the third quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 3,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $27.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.41. The stock has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.