Investors Purchase Large Volume of Interpublic Group of Companies Put Options (NYSE:IPG)

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 8,085 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,414% compared to the average daily volume of 534 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,187,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,532,000 after acquiring an additional 34,965 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 68.0% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 121,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,949,000 after purchasing an additional 48,996 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 176.5% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 254,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 162,468 shares during the period. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,076,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 532,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,479,000 after buying an additional 74,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 7.2 %

Shares of IPG opened at $27.09 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $27.01 and a 52-week high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.57.

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.