California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 626,664 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 60,308 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.17% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $17,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 133,888 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,422,568 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,860,000 after buying an additional 542,164 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $322,000. DnB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 65,210 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 117,333 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.
Read Our Latest Research Report on IPG
Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies
In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.
Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance
Shares of NYSE IPG traded up $2.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.01. The stock had a trading volume of 7,595,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,058,102. 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 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.62 and a 200-day moving average of $28.49. The company has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.01.
Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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 issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.28%. 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 share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
About Interpublic Group of Companies
(
Free Report)
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.
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