Short Interest in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Expands By 43.6%

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,210,000 shares, an increase of 43.6% from the February 13th total of 23,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $26.23 on Tuesday. Interpublic Group of Companies has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $33.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.60 and a 200 day moving average of $29.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

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.