Brandes Investment Partners LP Sells 1,842 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Brandes Investment Partners LP decreased its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,234 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,842 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $5,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IPG. State Street Corp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after buying an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $33.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.