BNP Paribas Financial Markets Grows Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,709,454 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 401,236 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.46% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $47,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings 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 valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 45,894 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $25.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,213,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,165,853. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day moving average is $25.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 5.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday, May 4th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reissued 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. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.