Bank of Montreal Can Buys 116,184 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 711,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,184 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.19% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $19,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $421,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 90.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 196,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,226,000 after acquiring an additional 93,251 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $24.57 on Friday. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The stock has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.40.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday. 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 stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.