Virtu Financial LLC Acquires 122,078 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1,870.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 128,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 122,078 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 11,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.11. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.27. The company has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership 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.