Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on IPG. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.60. 379,305 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,103,167. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $25.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.05. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter valued at $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.