By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG – Free Report) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 708,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,173 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $19,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,878,000 after acquiring an additional 45,894 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus cut 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 objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on IPG
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.
Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance
Shares of IPG stock opened at $25.06 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.38 and its 200-day moving average is $28.33. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.
Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
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.
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