Wolverine Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.03 and a 200-day moving average of $29.72. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $35.17. 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 company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.