Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note released on Tuesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the topic of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.42 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 418.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,552 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $294,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 448.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 268,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,482,000 after purchasing an additional 219,263 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.1% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 613,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 95.6% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 12,892 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.