WBI Investments LLC Cuts 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 cut its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 39.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,219.5% during the 1st 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, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,349 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.22. 1,226,432 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,709,211. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 1.09. 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 fifty day moving average price of $25.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.19.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. Finally, Barclays cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.01.

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.