Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Reduces Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,715 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 946,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,948,000 after purchasing an additional 11,824 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 706,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,355,000 after purchasing an additional 108,267 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 204,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding 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 a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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.