Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.0143.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $27.00 to $25.60 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Interpublic Group of Companies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.8%

IPG traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.50. 866,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,741,539. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $25.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.24.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 111.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted 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 acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,060 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 17,393 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 11,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 51,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

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.