Interpublic Group of Companies’ (IPG) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Citigroup

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Citigroup in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $35.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 39.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on IPG. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.9 %

IPG stock opened at $25.06 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.33. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week 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 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492,019 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,614,000 after purchasing an additional 81,996 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.