The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Bought by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 182.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 89,975 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.58. 4,953,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,129,840. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $25.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.