The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Announces $0.33 Quarterly Dividend

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.33 per share by the business services provider on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%.

Interpublic Group of Companies has increased its dividend by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Interpublic Group of Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 46.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Interpublic Group of Companies to earn $2.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.9%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $26.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.11. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $28.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.92.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.75.

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.