XTX Topco Ltd Purchases Shares of 60,482 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 60,482 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,695,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of IPG traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.91. 4,458,689 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,123,144. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $26.11 and its 200-day moving average is $28.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

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.