Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 178,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,812 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $5,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 52.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $31.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.89. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $27.20 and a one year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. UBS Group cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.