22,399 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Acquired by Wolverine Asset Management LLC

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 22,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th 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 period. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report 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 objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $27.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.72. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

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.