TCW Group Inc. Has $1.67 Million Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

TCW Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,560 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.11. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.30 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.72.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often 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.