Swedbank AB Raises Stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6%, owning 680,466 shares valued at approximately $18.5 million.
• Interpublic Group reported $0.75 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, though revenue dropped by 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a $0.33 quarterly dividend, translating to an annualized yield of 5.0%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 111.86%.

Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680,466 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,983 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.18% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $18,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 50,079 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 797.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,463,120 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300,105 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 15,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $344,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE IPG traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $25.70. The stock had a trading volume of 17,696,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,841,101. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.84 and its 200 day moving average is $25.20. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 111.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IPG. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Barclays downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.01.

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.