Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note released on Saturday. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock 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 decreased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $24.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $25.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.85. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56 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.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.32%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. 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 owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,374,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 17,341 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 37,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,095,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,754,000 after purchasing an additional 23,008 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,480,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 88,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.