The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Purchased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 139.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 3.55% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $370,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at $107,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IPG. 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. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 711,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,723,581. The stock has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $26.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.08. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. 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 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.