Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 31.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,045 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,661 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $51,794,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after buying an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE IPG opened at $26.51 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $33.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.53 and a 200-day moving average of $29.11. 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 company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.