Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires 70,856 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 595.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,856 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tobam lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,340.0% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 1,098 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,024.6% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Macquarie reduced their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 2.4 %

IPG traded up $0.72 on Friday, hitting $30.98. The company had a trading volume of 5,374,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,266,251. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.23. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $35.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.12.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 4th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

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.