Marshall Wace LLP Invests $10.03 Million in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 358,054 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,033,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.10% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in 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 worth $311,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 117,333 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,288,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG 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 5,130,691. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. 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 fifty day moving average price of $25.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.98.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IPG. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Activity

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

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.