Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note released on Monday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on IPG. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.84 on Monday. 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 one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business 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 company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,878,000 after purchasing an additional 45,894 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 129,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,631,000 after buying an additional 24,651 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 21,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $784,000. Finally, Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $421,000. 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.