WBI Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has reduced its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 39.3%, resulting in ownership of 33,708 shares valued at approximately $916,000.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for IPG, with Barclays lowering its target from $34.00 to $27.50, reflecting a shift in market outlook for the stock.
• Interpublic Group recently announced a $0.33 quarterly dividend, with a payout ratio of 111.86% and a yield of 5.1% for shareholders of record as of September 2nd.

WBI Investments LLC reduced its position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 39.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,708 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,844 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% in the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 2,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,349 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group cut 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 research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG opened at $25.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.01 and a beta of 1.09. 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's 50-day moving average price is $25.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.27% and a return on equity of 28.72%. Interpublic Group of Companies's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 111.86%.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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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