Benjamin Edwards Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,258 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 88,044 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $102,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Sunday, May 4th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of IPG stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.11. 3,213,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,156,737. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.42 and a 200 day moving average of $27.54. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.