ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) $IPG

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.8% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 30,939 shares and owning approximately 0.30% of the company's stock valued at $27.57 million.
• Several institutional investors have made significant moves, with Assenagon Asset Management increasing its position by 14,575.4%, adding nearly 3.1 million shares in the second quarter.
• Interpublic Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.0%, although its payout ratio stands at 111.86%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,126,441 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,939 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.30% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $27,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14,575.4% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,119,249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $76,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,097,994 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 49.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,510,242 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $231,138,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,490 shares in the last quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 568.6% in the first quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 2,340,000 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $63,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,000 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter worth $46,172,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 149.0% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,631,682 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $71,476,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574,777 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.9%

IPG opened at $26.51 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $26.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.16. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 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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