Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 1,848,464 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,848,464 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $51,794,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.50% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 3,100 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $27.36 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.41. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.15 and a one year high of $35.17.

Remove Ads

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (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, 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 has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is 72.13%.

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.