American Century Companies Inc. Sells 1,087,536 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,607,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,087,536 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.24% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $129,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 418.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 5,552 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $294,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 39,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,262,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 448.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 268,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,482,000 after buying an additional 219,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 613,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,431 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

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 transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $26.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.85 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.