The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Consensus Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IPG. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

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Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.45. 5,048,135 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,503,000. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.18. The company has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12-month low of $25.85 and a 12-month high of $33.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS 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, analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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.