The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 88.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,269 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 132,451 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492,019 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $287,618,000 after buying an additional 1,320,345 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $266,614,000 after buying an additional 81,996 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $25.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,054,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,171,532. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50 day moving average is $25.15 and its 200 day moving average is $27.29. 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 data 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.