Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 148,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,711,000 after buying an additional 622 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 IPG opened at $27.08 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $35.17. The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.72.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.88%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on IPG. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.