Alpine Associates Management Inc. Buys 1,199,300 Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG)

Key Points

• Alpine Associates Management Inc. has significantly increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) by 340.9% in the first quarter, owning approximately 1,551,100 shares now.
• IPG recently reported $0.75 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.55, despite a 6.6% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.32%, indicating a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Alpine Associates Management Inc. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 340.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,551,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,199,300 shares during the quarter. Interpublic Group of Companies makes up about 2.2% of Alpine Associates Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned approximately 0.42% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $42,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.8% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 15,102 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 119,908 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.1% during the first quarter. Palouse Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,763 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.23. The stock had a trading volume of 4,219,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,169,204. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.58. The company has a market capitalization of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 1.05. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 111.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.39.

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.