Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 61.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,422,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 542,164 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.38% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $39,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 20,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

IPG stock opened at $26.07 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.81 and a one year high of $33.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.30 and a 200-day moving average of $28.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) 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, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.