Korea Investment CORP Has $3.92 Million Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,760 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 8,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 465,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,042,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,044,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,870.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 128,605 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,604,000 after purchasing an additional 122,078 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 256,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,184,000 after purchasing an additional 55,747 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 3.9 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $26.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.85.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results 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 fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management 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.