Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Rating Lowered to "Equal Weight" at Barclays

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Barclays from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $27.50 target price on the business services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $34.00. Barclays's target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.16% from the stock's current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.72.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.3%

IPG traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $24.30. 9,432,246 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,817,226. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $24.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.15. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The company has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 27.21%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,797,490 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the fourth 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, Pentwater Capital Management LP raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 568.6% during the 1st quarter. Pentwater Capital Management LP now owns 2,340,000 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $63,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,990,000 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.