Analysts Set The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Target Price at $33.50

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas raised 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. Argus downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $27.08 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.03 and a 200-day moving average of $29.72. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $26.30 and a one year high of $35.17. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.80 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.