22,378 Shares in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $627,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 76,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 3,081 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 447,935 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,551,000 after purchasing an additional 150,303 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 65,948 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 16,748 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 253,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,106,000 after purchasing an additional 73,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SGL Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. SGL Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 134,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,608,000 after purchasing an additional 11,992 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on IPG. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $24.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $24.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.51 and a 52 week high of $33.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.50%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

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.