Voya Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 106,472 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 13,712 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,878,000 after purchasing an additional 45,894 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG traded down $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $24.94. 1,707,851 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,144,938. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.60. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $22.51 and a one year high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on IPG. Barclays cut their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Interpublic Group of Companies

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.