66,699 Shares in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG Purchased by GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.

Key Points

• GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. has acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group, purchasing 66,699 shares valued at approximately $1.81 million during the first quarter.
• Interpublic Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33, payable on September 16th, representing an annualized dividend of $1.32 with a yield of 4.9%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Interpublic Group, with a consensus of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.39, while shares have seen recent price adjustments from firms like UBS and JPMorgan.

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 66,699 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,812,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IPG. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 36,895 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 98,580 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 179.1% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 27,195 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 17,451 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 377,753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,585,000 after buying an additional 22,426 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on IPG. Barclays downgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.39.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,410,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,566,417. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75 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 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The business's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 111.86%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.