Larson Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,335 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after acquiring an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the third 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the third 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 worth $139,246,000 after acquiring an additional 417,741 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE IPG opened at $28.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $27.75 and a 200 day moving average of $29.44. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.15 and a 1 year high of $35.17. 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) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.