Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC Buys Shares of 13,400 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,395 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of IPG opened at $23.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.67 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased 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 assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.