Heritage Trust Co Makes New $2.22 Million Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 79,371 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,224,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $362,538,000 after acquiring an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $287,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,345 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,614,000 after buying an additional 81,996 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in 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 buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $25.13. 4,096,867 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,080,024. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $26.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.01. 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 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in 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 often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.