The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Position Increased by Trajan Wealth LLC

Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 182,393 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,655 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $5,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,878,000 after buying an additional 45,894 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report 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 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 4.8 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.13. 6,581,226 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,131,839. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $25.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.02. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.01. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, sell-side 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other 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 transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.