Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised 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. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $23.91 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.13. 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 cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05.

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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.