Ariel Investments LLC Trims Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Ariel Investments LLC cut its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,268,781 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 435,772 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 1.41% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $147,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $21,161,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,966,000. One68 Global Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $532,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,497,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 1.1 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $25.04. 2,739,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,158,264. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. 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 for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.27%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IPG. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays decreased 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 research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. One research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.