The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG – Get Rating) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,019 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,196.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,280,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,651,000 after buying an additional 5,796,432 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,082,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $334,910,000 after buying an additional 2,774,011 shares during the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,864,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,741,000 after buying an additional 1,075,237 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,707,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,691,233,000 after buying an additional 1,075,059 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 7,694,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $211,785,000 after buying an additional 814,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $22.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.25.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG traded down $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $33.73. The stock had a trading volume of 10,348,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,215,793. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $36.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.33. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.14 and a twelve month high of $39.52.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 30.58%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 52.10%.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, Director Dawn E. Hudson sold 5,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.15, for a total value of $197,242.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $892,729.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 38,885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $1,384,694.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 111,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,980,094.09. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dawn E. Hudson sold 5,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.15, for a total transaction of $197,242.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 26,930 shares in the company, valued at $892,729.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,779 shares of company stock valued at $3,250,936 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Profile

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Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc engages in the provision of marketing, communications, and business transformation services. It operates through the following segments: Media, Data, and Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising and Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications and Experiential Solutions.