39,000 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Bought by Caption Management LLC

Caption Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 39,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $107,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 295,937 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,322,000 after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,277,771 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $72,041,000 after buying an additional 157,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $25.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,213,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,156,739. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.09. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.51.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared that its board has initiated a share 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 buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday, May 4th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.44.

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.