Stifel Financial Corp Increases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 92.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 607,023 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 291,539 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.16% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $17,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of IPG. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $107,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.91. 1,364,268 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,543,470. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $25.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.81. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.