Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $15.76 Million Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 560,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,956 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $15,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 139,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,916,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 8,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 465,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,042,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $6,044,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,870.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 128,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,604,000 after buying an additional 122,078 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $27.13 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced 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 reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. 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 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.