Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,330 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $139,246,000 after purchasing an additional 417,741 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG opened at $28.20 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.48. The company has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Argus downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.