Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,645 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,851 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,645 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during 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. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd 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, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $25.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.85 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.04. The company has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on IPG. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded 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 raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.