Legal & General Group Plc Has $51.48 Million Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Legal & General Group Plc cut its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,837,208 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 872,158 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.49% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $51,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on IPG. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG traded down $1.85 on Wednesday, hitting $23.29. The company had a trading volume of 9,927,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,102,945. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $33.05. 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 fifty day moving average price is $26.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.31. The stock has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.