Alpine Associates Management Inc. Takes $9.86 Million Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 351,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,857,000. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Interpublic Group of Companies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.4% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 31,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,499 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.5% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 153,332 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,606,000 after acquiring an additional 9,393 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 80,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,555,000 after acquiring an additional 4,241 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 148,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,711,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,277,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $72,041,000 after acquiring an additional 157,695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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 value of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $28.20 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.15 and a 12 month high of $35.17. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board 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.