Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.40 on Friday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $26.30 and a 52-week high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.86 and a 200-day moving average of $29.62. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in 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 raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in 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. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in 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, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.