The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by 44 Wealth Management LLC

44 Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,194 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $27.08 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.72. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $35.17. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.80 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 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share 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 often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.