Magnetar Financial LLC Sells 50,076 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Magnetar Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 50,076 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Macquarie cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE IPG opened at $31.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.06 and a 200-day moving average of $30.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $35.17. The firm has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.10.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

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.