Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,337,441 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 166,876 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.90% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $93,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.01. 3,920,134 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,208,409. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.13. 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 fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

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

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.