Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $413,000 Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,620 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE IPG opened at $27.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.75. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on IPG. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.