Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Boosts Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 61.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,422,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 542,164 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $39,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock opened at $26.07 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.83. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.81 and a 12-month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on IPG. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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.