Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note issued on Monday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $26.59 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.19. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.29. 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 $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Sell-side analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 20,395 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,589,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.