Atria Investments Inc Reduces Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Atria Investments Inc decreased its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 648 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 511,607 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $298,107,000 after buying an additional 81,265 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% in 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 valued at $139,246,000 after buying an additional 417,741 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.47 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $9.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.28. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $33.29.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication 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 paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.