Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Shares Up 4.9% – Here’s Why

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)’s stock price traded up 4.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $29.39 and last traded at $29.55. 1,295,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 5,593,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $28.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

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 company has a market cap of $10.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200-day moving average price 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 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, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copley Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,637,000. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 253,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 73,054 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,923,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.