The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Purchased by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 797.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,463,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300,105 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $40,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,693,636 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $25.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.33. 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 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. On average, research 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 of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 stock was 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on IPG. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on 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. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.44.

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.