Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 1,743 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 297,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $8,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings 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 worth $150,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $67,955,000 after acquiring an additional 2,406,073 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $51,794,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,056,905 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,614,000 after acquiring an additional 644,621 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas raised 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.01 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.62 and its 200-day moving average is $28.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.