Vise Technologies Inc. Buys New Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 11,726 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,325,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 465,454 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,042,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $23.97. The stock had a trading volume of 47,959,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,421,082. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.95. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

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.