Van ECK Associates Corp Has $7.04 Million Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 63.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 251,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,877 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $7,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the third 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 during the period. 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 worth $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during 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 raised its stake 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 worth $139,246,000 after purchasing an additional 417,741 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.08 on Tuesday. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $28.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.82.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on IPG. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.