The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Ossiam

Ossiam decreased its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,974 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 18,799 shares during the period. Ossiam's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of IPG. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $24.43. 1,840,745 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,118,803. 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 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 cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.98.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.