DnB Asset Management AS Buys 1,379 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 20,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $26.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.85. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (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 forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on IPG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.