The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE IPG opened at $26.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $33.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.63 and its 200-day moving average is $29.28.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.