StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research report released on Monday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $25.00 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $25.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Interpublic Group of Companies has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’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 directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 139.5% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 13,210,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,157,000 after buying an additional 7,693,636 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $207,439,000 after buying an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after buying an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12,548.6% in the 4th quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 2,425,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,955,000 after buying an additional 2,406,073 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth $51,794,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.