Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,684,095 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,698,492 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned 2.87% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $299,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 13,546 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $107,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.7% during 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. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.4% in 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 last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
IPG has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Sunday, May 4th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.44.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Interpublic Group of Companies
Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.5 %
NYSE IPG traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.11. 3,213,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,165,853. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.49. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05.
Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.
Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 100.76%.
Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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