The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,224 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,722,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $278,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,204,630 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,291,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,286,000 after buying an additional 167,810 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,385,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,317,000 after buying an additional 414,110 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,635,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,852,000 after buying an additional 916,574 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.6% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,038,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,076,000 after buying an additional 160,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 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 $1,300,654.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other 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 transaction of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 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 $1,300,654.60. Following the sale, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $30.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.13. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $40.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.43.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. This is a positive change from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

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.