300,000 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Purchased by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 300,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,406,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned 0.08% of Interpublic Group of Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $570,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,973,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,765,870 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $105,520,000 after buying an additional 597,488 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $422,000. Finally, Caption Management LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,093,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE IPG traded up $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $25.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,343,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,171,784. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.41. The company has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.09.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for 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 revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.