The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Position Boosted by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden boosted its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 128,771 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden owned approximately 0.14% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $15,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $28.20 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.15 and a one year high of $35.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.74 and its 200-day moving average is $29.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of several research reports. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.