Birnam Oak Advisors LP Makes New Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Birnam Oak Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 256,238 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,180,000. Interpublic Group of Companies accounts for about 3.5% of Birnam Oak Advisors LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Birnam Oak Advisors LP owned 0.07% of Interpublic Group of Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at about $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on IPG. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,353,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,660,357. 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 one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $27.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.16. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 yield of 4.98%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 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.