The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 548,923 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 26,581 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.14% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $17,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in IPG. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 47.2% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 67,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 21,579 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.8% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 179,907 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,892 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 56,942 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,632,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 208,654 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 7,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $1,170,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.44. 3,795,839 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,074,866. The company's 50-day moving average is $31.89 and its 200-day moving average is $31.40. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.20 and a 52-week high of $40.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.98%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,387,987.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601 in the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IPG. UBS Group began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.13.

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.