Westchester Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 445,866 The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Westchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 445,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,493,000. Interpublic Group of Companies comprises 0.7% of Westchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% during the 4th 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% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,677,000 after buying an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of several recent research reports. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday, April 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $25.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.98.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.