The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Bought by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,996 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.56% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $266,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 297,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,341,000 after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,056,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,614,000 after acquiring an additional 644,621 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,109,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,079,000 after purchasing an additional 260,312 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 133,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,422,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,860,000 after purchasing an additional 542,164 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

IPG stock opened at $23.70 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.67 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.73.

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 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS 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 paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.