Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 60,463 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 486,812 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 60,463 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $13,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,794,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.51. 42,353,534 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,649,081. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.85 and a 52 week high of $33.27.

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 earnings per share 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%. Equities 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.98%. 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 repurchase program 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 buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.