Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $329,000 Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,748 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $52,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,546 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth about $206,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 16,187 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE IPG traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.75. 846,676 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,119,803. The company has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.01. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The company's 50-day moving average is $25.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Saturday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

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.