BMO Capital Markets reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG) in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The firm currently has a $14.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $13.00.
“Reported 4Q12 EPS of $0.56 (excluding the gain on the sale of FB stock) were above our and consensus estimates of $0.53. 4Q organic revenue growth of 0.4% was below our +1.3% and the Street’s +0.8%, while the 19.9% operating margin was below our 21.4%. The US and UK were weaker than expected (-1.0% and -6.9% organic revenue growth, respectively, vs. our +1.5% and +0.8%), while Latin America and Asia Pacific partially offset. Management expects to see 2-3% organic revenue growth in 2013 with +50 bp of margin expansion. The dividend was raised from $0.24 to $0.30 annually and the share buyback was re-upped for another $300 mn.,” BMO Capital Markets’ analyst wrote.
Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies traded up 0.64% during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $12.50. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $9.04 and a one year high of $12.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $12.10. The company has a market cap of $5.174 billion and a P/E ratio of 13.26.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which is scheduled for Monday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06.
A number of other firms have also recently commented on IPG. Analysts at Pivotal Research raised their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note to investors on Thursday, February 21st. Separately, analysts at Wedbush reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note to investors on Wednesday, February 20th. They now have a $13.50 price target on the stock, up previously from $12.75. Finally, analysts at Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note to investors on Tuesday, February 19th. They set a neutral rating and a $11.00 price target on the stock.
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