The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 916,648 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 127,182 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.24% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $28,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 571.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,466,376 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,062 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $158,157,000 after purchasing an additional 899,332 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 101.9% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,690,523 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,162,000 after purchasing an additional 853,287 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $199,063,000 after buying an additional 828,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth $20,493,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie lowered their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.03. 3,450,926 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,897,265. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.20 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.77. The company has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.