Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $154,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.33.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.44.

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.