Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,422,468 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 333,347 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.99% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $207,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of IPG. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $52,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $4,428,000 after buying an additional 16,187 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $24.74. The company had a trading volume of 665,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,118,477. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $25.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.90. The stock has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. On average, research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.