Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 8.6%, owning approximately $45.88 million worth of the company's shares after selling 159,280 shares in the first quarter.
• Interpublic Group reported $0.75 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and had a revenue of $2.17 billion, though down 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, with an annual yield of 5.0%, despite having a high dividend payout ratio of 111.86%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,689,184 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 159,280 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $45,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.6%

IPG traded up $0.6960 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.2260. 9,881,041 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,458,931. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07 and a beta of 1.05. Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.00 and a 200 day moving average of $25.26.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 111.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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