HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,230 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 34,697 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 11,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IPG. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded up $0.39 on Tuesday, hitting $26.32. 3,337,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,670,182. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.85 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.04.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 5.01%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.