Jones Financial Companies Lllp Buys 2,991 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,294 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 32,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Proactive Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 11,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 630 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock 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 increased their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $26.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.36.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted 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, analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.06%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

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.