Voloridge Investment Management LLC Purchases 294,400 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,445,498 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 294,400 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.66% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $68,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $52,243,000 after purchasing an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 389.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 70,487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 56,087 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 28,238 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 21,612 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,878,000 after buying an additional 45,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $24.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,920,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,208,409. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current 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 company has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.09.

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

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

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.