Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) shares hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $25.85 and last traded at $26.59, with a volume of 8928740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on IPG. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.16.

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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.