First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,975,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,492,019 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $363,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,157,000 after acquiring an additional 7,693,636 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after purchasing an additional 2,406,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,794,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of 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, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related 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 $3,845,263.86. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $23.91 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.51 and a fifty-two week high of $33.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.