Xponance Inc. Has $1.68 Million Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during 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. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $107,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

IPG opened at $26.51 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05. 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 company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

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

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.