The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 93.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,315 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 490,479 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of IPG stock traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $24.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,549,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,200,711. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.07. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.40%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company'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 value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. One equities 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, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.