Commerce Bank Sells 98,332 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,006,099 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 98,332 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $31,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of IPG traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,499,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,958,470. 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 company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 1.10. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.88 and a 1 year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. Interpublic Group of Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on IPG. BNP Paribas downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Macquarie reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.57.

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.