Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Sells 1,410 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lessened its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,410 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth about $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on IPG. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note 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 raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $26.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.33. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, research analysts forecast 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 of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

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.