UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,891 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 956.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 104,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after buying an additional 94,821 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,246,000 after buying an additional 417,741 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.1% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 311.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 137,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after acquiring an additional 104,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.29 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.91. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 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.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Research 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 company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.