New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 21,735 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,735 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,538,000 after buying an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $298,107,000 after buying an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.70. 7,813,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,004,418. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.67 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 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 target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

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.