The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,740,000 shares, a decrease of 8.5% from the March 15th total of 19,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,870. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 148,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Signet Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 20,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 495,500.0% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 227,976 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,439,000 after acquiring an additional 227,930 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.25.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG traded down $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $30.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,489,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,529. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.28. The company has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $27.20 and a 52-week high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.32%.

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.