The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Acquired by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 182.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,328 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 89,975 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, reaching $24.58. The company had a trading volume of 4,953,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,136,077. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average is $25.83 and its 200 day moving average is $27.90. The company has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The firm had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.