Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG Shares Purchased by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 94.3% in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 23,417 shares worth $573,000.
• Various institutional investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Goldman Sachs, have also increased their stakes in Interpublic, reflecting a strong interest in the company's performance.
• Interpublic recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, resulting in a 5.1% yield, although the dividend payout ratio is high at 111.86%.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 94.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,417 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,366 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position 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. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position 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. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $25.70. 17,696,297 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,841,101. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $25.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.18. The stock has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 111.86%.

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.