The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Short Interest Update

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 28,320,000 shares, a decline of 18.6% from the March 15th total of 34,790,000 shares. Approximately 7.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $23.91. The company had a trading volume of 4,458,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,123,144. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $22.51 and a 1-year high of $33.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.15. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 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, analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IPG. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth $44,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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, UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.67.

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.