The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Purchased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in IPG. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,651,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $52,243,000 after buying an additional 13,546 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $206,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $2,499,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth $107,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,428,000 after buying an additional 16,187 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $24.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.90. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.51 and a 52-week high of $33.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.37%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.76%.

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.