Bridgewater Associates LP Has $253,000 Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 91.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 95,709 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,496 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 69.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $421,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $2,325,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,030,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,878,000 after acquiring an additional 45,894 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.67.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.8 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $23.91 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.13. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a market capitalization of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

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

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.