StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $23.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.75. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $23.67 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14.

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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.57%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This 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 this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.