The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Holdings Decreased by WBI Investments LLC

WBI Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,552 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,446 shares during the quarter. WBI Investments LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,584,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492,019 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $362,538,000 after acquiring an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $287,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,345 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,614,000 after acquiring an additional 81,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays cut 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.2%

IPG traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,920,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,195,183. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.17. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week 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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

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.