Birnam Oak Advisors LP Invests $7.18 Million in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Birnam Oak Advisors LP purchased a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 256,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,180,000. Interpublic Group of Companies makes up about 3.5% of Birnam Oak Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Birnam Oak Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in 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. Amundi increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $51,794,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 worth $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.24. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.