The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Short Interest Up 43.6% in February

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,210,000 shares, a growth of 43.6% from the February 13th total of 23,130,000 shares. Approximately 9.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $26.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $33.29. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.30.

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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

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.