Commerce Bank Sells 48,732 Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.6% during the first quarter, holding 687,352 shares worth approximately $18.67 million at that time.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with Barclays downgrading it from "overweight" to "equal weight" and lowering the price target to $27.50, while Citigroup maintains a "buy" rating with a target price of $35.00.
• Interpublic Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33, representing an annualized yield of 5.4%, despite a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Commerce Bank trimmed its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 687,352 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 48,732 shares during the period. Commerce Bank owned approximately 0.19% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $18,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,794,000. Calamos Advisors LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,172,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $287,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,345 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 1.5%

IPG stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $24.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,219,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,380,161. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.55. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.4%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is 111.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Barclays lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.39.

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.