Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 34,319 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 41.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,127 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 34,319 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

IPG stock opened at $26.47 on Friday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.30. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $33.29. The company has a market capitalization of $9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday, March 9th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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.