Aviva PLC Sells 18,298 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Aviva PLC cut its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 900,845 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 18,298 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.24% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $25,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,278,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $375,000. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,802,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,614,000 after acquiring an additional 81,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.44. 1,789,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,052,673. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $26.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.44. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a market cap of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current 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 EPS 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, sell-side analysts expect 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 initiated 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 typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

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.