Barclays Lowers Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Price Target to $34.00

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Barclays from $36.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the business services provider's stock. Barclays's price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.04% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on IPG. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Friday, April 18th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 952,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,113,969. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.83. 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 has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies 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 transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $2,499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,428,000 after buying an additional 16,187 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.