Essex Financial Services Inc. Purchases 942 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 21,272 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.8% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 49,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 17,216 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,041,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,205,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,783,000 after purchasing an additional 289,014 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.00 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $28.40 and a 200-day moving average of $29.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.