Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Interpublic Group by 38.4%, now owning approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $7.9 million.
• Institutional investors, including Charles Schwab and Deutsche Bank, have increased their positions in Interpublic Group, indicating growing interest in the stock despite competing stake sales.
• Interpublic Group reported earnings of $0.75 EPS, surpassing expectations, but experienced a revenue decrease of 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 38.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,131 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 183,499 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.08% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $7,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,781,455 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $374,304,000 after buying an additional 842,925 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,422,468 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $207,974,000 after buying an additional 333,347 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,239,927 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,823,000 after buying an additional 1,025,589 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 32.0% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,972,412 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $135,051,000 after buying an additional 1,206,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,670,228 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $130,860,000 after buying an additional 267,879 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG traded up $0.6960 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.2260. 9,881,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,180,988. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $25.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.20. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 111.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Barclays downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.39.

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.