Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (The) (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $25.36, but opened at $24.67. Interpublic Group of Companies shares last traded at $24.95, with a volume of 742,372 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Barclays downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $27.50 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.21% and a net margin of 4.69%. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.1% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,885,384 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $377,127,000 after acquiring an additional 674,938 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,781,455 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $374,304,000 after buying an additional 842,925 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $363,584,000 after buying an additional 1,492,019 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $287,618,000 after buying an additional 1,320,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $266,614,000 after buying an additional 81,996 shares in the last quarter. 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.