Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 139.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $370,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 117,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,288,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $23.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 1.01. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.27.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 yield of 5.67%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.