Pentwater Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 350,000 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Pentwater Capital Management LP purchased a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 350,000 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,807,000. Interpublic Group of Companies comprises about 0.1% of Pentwater Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Pentwater Capital Management LP owned about 0.09% of Interpublic Group of Companies at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $107,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

IPG stock opened at $24.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.85. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.

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