Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 39,062 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 39,062 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% during the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,794,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,345 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on IPG. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $25.13 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.33 and its 200 day moving average is $28.31. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.25%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.