Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 230,903 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 58,293 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.06% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $6,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. State Street Corp increased its stake 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 worth $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 valued at $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Wednesday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of IPG traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,813,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,993,603. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $27.13 and its 200-day moving average is $28.75. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.70 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.