Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Cuts Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lowered its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,647 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $9,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth about $107,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $215,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised 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 note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $23.70 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.67 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.13 and a 200 day moving average of $28.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. As a group, equities research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.57%. 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% 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.