Blue Capital Inc. Makes New $545,000 Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Blue Capital Inc. bought a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,440 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,878,000 after buying an additional 45,894 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, hitting $25.24. 2,021,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,152,570. 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 market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.45 and a 200 day moving average of $27.58.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on 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. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

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.