Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,746 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Howard Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during 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. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target 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 issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.30 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.68.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.