Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.1%, acquiring 674,938 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 3.76% of the company valued at $377 million.
• Interpublic reported earnings of $0.75 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, although revenue decreased by 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, representing a 4.9% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,885,384 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 674,938 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 3.76% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $377,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:IPG traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.41. 1,764,470 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,834,275. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $25.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $9.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IPG. UBS Group decreased their price objective on 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. Barclays lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.