Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $2.80 Million in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 100,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,802,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $245,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $266,614,000 after purchasing an additional 81,996 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 297,680 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 156.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,056,905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,614,000 after purchasing an additional 644,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,109,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,079,000 after buying an additional 260,312 shares during the last quarter. 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 research analysts recently commented on IPG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,190,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,009,082. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.71 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.66. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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 the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.