Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Upgraded by UBS Group to Neutral Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $27.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, down from their prior price target of $29.00.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.11. 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 has a 1 year low of $26.30 and a 1 year high of $35.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.90.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. On average, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during 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 buying an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,618,000 after buying an additional 1,320,345 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,614,000 after buying an additional 81,996 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.