HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 34,697 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 34,697 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on IPG. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, 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 owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

IPG opened at $26.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.85 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.