AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 6,915 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 100.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,915 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after buying an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during 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. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during 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. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

IPG opened at $26.11 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.14. 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 $25.97 and a one year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday, March 9th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.