Xponance Inc. Grows Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at about $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company 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 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.51 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.85 and a 1-year high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.