Gabelli Funds LLC Increases Stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. by 8.6% in Q1, owning 209,600 shares worth $5.69 million as of their latest filing.
• Analysts have mixed forecasts for IPG, with UBS and Barclays lowering their price targets, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a price target of $32.39.
• Interpublic Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 4.9% and a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,600 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $5,693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $1,480,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.4% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of 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 worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.5% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 500,207 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,586,000 after purchasing an additional 34,753 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 106,420.0% in the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.39.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, reaching $26.28. 3,242,267 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,845,047. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $25.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.25.

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 EPS 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 business 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. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.