Access Financial Services Inc. Sells 14,061 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Access Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,061 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $27.84 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $35.17. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $28.83 and a 200 day moving average of $30.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

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.