Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the business services provider's stock.

IPG has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.67.

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Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG traded up $0.28 during trading on Thursday, reaching $25.29. 412,914 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,065,740. The company has a market cap of $9.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.33. 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 has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.