River Road Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,804 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $11,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $133,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 52,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,867,000 after buying an additional 3,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 63,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,240,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,387,987.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 in the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock opened at $30.27 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $40.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.27.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 46.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.25.

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.