The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Position Boosted by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 23.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,003 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,891 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on IPG. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of 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 assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction 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 $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.70. 7,813,621 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,993,603. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.70 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.