StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report published on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

IPG stock opened at $26.23 on Monday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $33.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.14.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth about $202,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 706,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,355,000 after acquiring an additional 108,267 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 204,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,454,000 after buying an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.1% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.