Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Trims Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 529,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 28,759 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.14% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $14,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,019 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,614,000 after purchasing an additional 81,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on IPG shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Saturday, April 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.01. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $33.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $25.58 and a 200-day moving average of $27.72.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

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.