The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Purchased by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,974 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of IPG. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $26.29 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.91.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.