Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,486 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IPG. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,024.6% in the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,235 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $31.47 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.12. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.33 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 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 Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Macquarie reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.