Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Grows Stock Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 42.2%, owning about 1.75 million shares valued at $47.62 million.
• The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while quarterly revenue was down 6.6% year-over-year.
• Interpublic Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, resulting in a 5.0% annualized yield, with a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 42.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,753,297 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 520,192 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.47% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $47,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter worth $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. Barclays lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $27.02. The company had a trading volume of 3,846,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,802,810. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $25.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.23. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.89 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.86%.

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.