International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes $1.53 Million Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 49,776 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 392,769 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,820,000 after purchasing an additional 92,692 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 99,678 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,857,000 after purchasing an additional 24,459 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 338,048 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,688,000 after buying an additional 47,184 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 212.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 827,224 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $23,708,000 after acquiring an additional 562,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 792,531 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,714,000 after acquiring an additional 40,889 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.25.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $4,842,976.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,387,987.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE IPG traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.03. 3,071,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,059,480. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.13. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from Interpublic Group of Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is currently 46.32%.

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.