Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Trims Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,389 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the last quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 11,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of 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 report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.29 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.