ProVise Management Group LLC Sells 9,000 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

ProVise Management Group LLC trimmed its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 49.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 20,395 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% in the fourth 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. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 956.5% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 104,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,313,000 after acquiring an additional 94,821 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’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 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 $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $26.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.18. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

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

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.