The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,837,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 872,158 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $51,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $287,618,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,345 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 711,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,938,000 after purchasing an additional 116,184 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 282,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,969,000 after purchasing an additional 14,696 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 315,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,846,000 after purchasing an additional 56,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 708,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $19,855,000 after buying an additional 134,173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $24.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $26.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.40. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.51 and a 12-month high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.