Lifeworks Advisors LLC Invests $209,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Lifeworks Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of IPG. State Street Corp increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,538,000 after acquiring an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $139,246,000 after purchasing an additional 417,741 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 3.2 %

IPG stock opened at $28.20 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average is $29.47. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.15 and a one year high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.