Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $3.44 Million Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 50.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,049 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG opened at $26.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.53 and a 200-day moving average of $29.08. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.05. 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 released its quarterly 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, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.