Twin Tree Management LP Raises Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 522.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,403 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 20,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 956.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 104,734 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 94,821 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $26.59 on Wednesday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $33.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.57 and a 200 day moving average of $29.19. 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 posted its 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, research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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.