15,027 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Bought by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,027 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,395 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,679.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,523 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $965,000 after acquiring an additional 29,425 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 956.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 104,734 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 94,821 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday, January 12th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.84. 5,109,237 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,438,917. The company's fifty day moving average is $28.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.05. 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 fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is 62.26%.

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.