Aurora Investment Counsel Decreases Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Aurora Investment Counsel trimmed its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35,787 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,187,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,532,000 after purchasing an additional 34,965 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 68.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 121,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,949,000 after purchasing an additional 48,996 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 176.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 254,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,403,000 after purchasing an additional 162,468 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 532,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,479,000 after purchasing an additional 74,200 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $605,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.57.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.6 %

IPG stock opened at $28.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 1.10. 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’s fifty day moving average is $30.48 and its 200 day moving average is $30.55. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.88 and a one year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.65%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

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.