Invesco Ltd. Boosts Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,320,345 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.75% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $287,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 711,573 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,938,000 after purchasing an additional 116,184 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 282,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,969,000 after buying an additional 14,696 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 315,865 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,846,000 after buying an additional 56,332 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,590 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $19,855,000 after acquiring an additional 134,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,278,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.96. The company had a trading volume of 3,518,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,783,213. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $26.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.31. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.51%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IPG. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.67.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.