Korea Investment CORP Sells 64,100 Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP has reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 45.9%, now holding 75,660 shares valued at approximately $2.06 million.
• Interpublic Group recently reported earnings of $0.75 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue of $2.17 billion despite a 6.6% decline from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, with a notable dividend yield of 4.8%, despite its payout ratio being over 111%.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 45.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,660 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 64,100 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Mariner LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 36,895 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 98,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,762,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 92.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 607,023 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,009,000 after buying an additional 291,539 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,337,315 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $37,514,000 after buying an additional 206,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 179.1% during the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 27,195 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 17,451 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE IPG traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $26.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,588,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,919,629. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.27. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83 and a beta of 1.05. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week 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.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.9%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.