Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $966,000 Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 121.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,891 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 50.2% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 122,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 41,049 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Stokes Family Office LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $255,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,496,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on IPG. BNP Paribas raised 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.11. 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 (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.