UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,670,228 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 267,879 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 1.25% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $130,860,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 2,445,498 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $68,523,000 after purchasing an additional 294,400 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $627,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 76,673 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 447,935 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,551,000 after purchasing an additional 150,303 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 65,948 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 16,748 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on IPG shares. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,700,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,212,263. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.85 and a 200-day moving average of $27.05. The 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 market cap of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.