AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 6,915 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 100.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,915 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,857,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $753,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $26.11 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.36. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.97 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. On average, equities research 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 announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.