BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires Shares of 15,427 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,427 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $432,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $2,499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $107,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 16,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on IPG. UBS Group upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.44.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business'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 directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of IPG stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,985,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,130,798. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $25.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.81. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

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