The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) To Go Ex-Dividend on March 3rd

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.33 per share by the business services provider on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd.

Interpublic Group of Companies has raised its dividend by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Interpublic Group of Companies has a payout ratio of 46.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Interpublic Group of Companies to earn $2.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.9%.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $27.00 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $28.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.11. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.