Tredje AP fonden Sells 30,002 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Tredje AP fonden cut its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,002 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,002 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,648 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 946,822 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $29,948,000 after acquiring an additional 11,824 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 706,774 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,355,000 after acquiring an additional 108,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 204,066 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 4,349 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on IPG. 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 cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.66. 6,235,870 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,499,930. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $33.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.19.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio 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.