84,361 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Acquired by Fisher Funds Management LTD

Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 84,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $26,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew 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 valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of IPG opened at $27.08 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.72. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.