The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Stock Position Lowered by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank lowered its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,204 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 15,679 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,497,000. Paloma Partners Management Co purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $345,000. Pentwater Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $9,807,000. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,034,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,239,927 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,823,000 after buying an additional 1,025,589 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.58. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The company 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.28%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.76%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IPG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.