Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01, RTT News reports. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 10.09%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $31.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $27.20 and a 12 month high of $40.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.35.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.20%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,878.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

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.