Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 65,511 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 70.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,846 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 65,511 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,325,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 465,454 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,042,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.97. 47,959,083 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,421,082. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $24.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.98. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IPG. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

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.