The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $33.50.

Several equities analysts recently commented on IPG shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.47 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.