Ethic Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25.4%, now owning 65,095 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Interpublic recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, surpassing estimates and generating a revenue of $2.17 billion, though revenue is down 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, with a yield of 5.1%, scheduled for payment in September.

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 25.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,095 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 22,181 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter valued at $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in 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. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.6%

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.6960 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.2260. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,881,041 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,458,931. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. 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 P/E ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.26.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies's quarterly revenue 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 earnings per share 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. 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 presently 111.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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