Marshall Wace LLP Sells 109,720 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 418,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 109,720 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $12,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,620,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,157,000 after purchasing an additional 899,332 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 101.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,690,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,162,000 after purchasing an additional 853,287 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after purchasing an additional 828,150 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,922,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,954,000 after buying an additional 777,456 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie decreased their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Morgan Stanley cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

IPG stock opened at $31.62 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.20 and a twelve month high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.92.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 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.