Boston Partners Cuts Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Boston Partners lessened its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,330,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,096 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.36% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $37,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.66 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.18.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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 Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.