Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report released on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on IPG. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $27.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.14. 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 52 week low of $26.15 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.41.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. 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.