Millennium Management LLC Purchases 1,300,105 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 797.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,463,120 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,300,105 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $40,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MJP Associates Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $364,000. Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $632,000. LMR Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,089.5% in the fourth quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 180,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,044,000 after buying an additional 164,868 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 50,079 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $8,406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,920,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,195,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.17. The firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on IPG. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.44.

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.