The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Rating of "Reduce" by Brokerages

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Reduce" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.71.

Several analysts recently commented on IPG shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday, December 27th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,188 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 3,127 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 50,523 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 143,939 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,187,000 after purchasing an additional 9,486 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 17,584 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE IPG traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,719,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,306,498. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.88 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

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.