Brown Advisory Inc. Buys 81,688 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,894,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,688 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $53,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th 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 period. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $25.35 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.66. The firm has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.21%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction 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 insiders.

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.