The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,540 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% in 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on IPG shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective 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 upped their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $23.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.66. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.71 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 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%. Analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.