Virtu Financial LLC Sells 120,952 Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC sold 120,952 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, reducing its holdings by 94.0%, leaving it with only 7,653 shares worth approximately $208,000.
• Interpublic Group reported $0.75 EPS for the most recent quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.55, although revenue decreased by 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share on September 16th, representing a 5.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 111.86%.

Virtu Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 94.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,653 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 120,952 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.39.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.0810 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.5290. The stock had a trading volume of 3,365,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,417,779. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 111.86%.

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.