Korea Investment CORP Acquires 10,000 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,760 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,916,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $67,955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,794,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.70. 7,813,621 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,004,418. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.67 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. 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 $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.71.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. 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 announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

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.