Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 628,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 78,251 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.17% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $17,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in 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 period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the third 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 buying an additional 417,741 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.36 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.41. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.15 and a 1 year high of $35.17. 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 market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.14.

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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.82%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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.