Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 95,709 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 91.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,025 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 95,709 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 406,714 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,396,000 after acquiring an additional 22,658 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $141,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,695,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $776,000. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 36,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of IPG stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,953,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,129,840. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $25.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.94.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several research reports. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a 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 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, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.