Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 809,103 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,001 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.22% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $22,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.91. 4,458,689 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,121,227. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.22. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.