Howard Capital Management Inc. Invests $273,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $32,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $27.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.68. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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, equities analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on IPG shares. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.