The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Stake Boosted by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,974 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 20,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 956.5% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE:IPG opened at $26.29 on Monday. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $27.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. Analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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.