26,872 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Acquired by Personal CFO Solutions LLC

Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 26,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 3,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of IPG opened at $28.20 on Monday. 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.47. The firm has a market cap of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company 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 research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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.