The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Stake Lessened by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45,179 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $10,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $26.66 on Thursday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.18.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly 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, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.