Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 65,492 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 12.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 609,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,492 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $17,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $31.62 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $27.20 and a one year high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.92.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on IPG. UBS Group downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.