Allstate Corp Invests $322,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 11,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.1% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 311.7% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 137,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after buying an additional 104,420 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 127.2% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 298,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,426,000 after buying an additional 166,839 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 35.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 52,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report 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 objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $26.07 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.81 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.83.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

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

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.