Investors Research Corp Purchases 31,075 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 514.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,118 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares during the quarter. Investors Research Corp's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,820 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 86.0% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 150,240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,210,000 after buying an additional 69,465 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 615,483 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,246,000 after buying an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 31,814 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $891,000 after buying an additional 1,674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.31. 1,883,446 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,431,283. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.