Arizona State Retirement System Grows Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 961 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,499 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 80,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,555,000 after buying an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,277,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,041,000 after acquiring an additional 157,695 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 48.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 41,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after acquiring an additional 13,537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.4% during the third quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 42,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $28.20 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.15 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average is $29.47.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.