State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 1,145 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,246,000 after acquiring an additional 417,741 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,426,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $393,064,000 after acquiring an additional 270,857 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 448.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 268,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,482,000 after acquiring an additional 219,263 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on IPG. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 1.4 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.79 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $26.30 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.44 and its 200 day moving average is $29.92. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.