StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in a research note published on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. 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. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE IPG traded down $0.63 on Monday, hitting $25.00. 6,124,020 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,168,433. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $25.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.43. The company has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.09.

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

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

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 value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,794,000. Institutional investors 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.