Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 30,182 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,104,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,182 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.37% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $1,291,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IPG. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on IPG. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.43 and its 200 day moving average is $28.97. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.05. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.13%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.