Vest Financial LLC Has $1.32 Million Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Vest Financial LLC lessened its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 96.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,678 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,156,984 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 106,420.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,326 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 5,321 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 85,560 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 4,792 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 800,856 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,751,000 after purchasing an additional 98,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 514.2% in the first quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 37,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 31,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $23.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.79. 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 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2 billion during 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%. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The 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 Monday, June 16th. Investors 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 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign 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.

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