Analysts Set The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) PT at $33.50

Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $27.64 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $27.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.67. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.