Van ECK Associates Corp Increases Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 63.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,209 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,877 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $7,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 70.3% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 253,172 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,008,000 after buying an additional 104,514 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 134.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 77,237 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,443,000 after acquiring an additional 44,225 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 50,141 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 9,210 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on IPG. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of IPG traded down $0.49 on Friday, hitting $27.08. 6,038,184 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,156,288. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The company has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, equities 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.