F M Investments LLC Boosts Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

F M Investments LLC boosted its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,807 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,264,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $287,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,345 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,531,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $266,614,000 after purchasing an additional 81,996 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG opened at $24.57 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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 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, sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

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 that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.