Assetmark Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies, selling 40,503 shares to end the first quarter with only 1,993 shares worth $54,000.
• Interpublic Group reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, outperforming analyst expectations of $0.55, despite a 6.6% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The firm recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, yielding 5.4%, but has a payout ratio of over 111%.

Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 95.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,993 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 40,503 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $54,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter worth about $1,480,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 153,830 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.8% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 43,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $17,884,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 106,420.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,326 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 5,321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $24.95. 4,602,261 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,009,271. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $24.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.52.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.20. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 28.72% and a net margin of 4.27%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on IPG shares. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.