National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,502 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,339 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 297,680 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,056,905 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,614,000 after buying an additional 644,621 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,109,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,079,000 after buying an additional 260,312 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 133,888 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,721,000 after buying an additional 1,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,422,568 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,860,000 after acquiring an additional 542,164 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.57. 4,549,684 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,073,361. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $26.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.40. 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 (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on IPG. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research 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. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.