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

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.26. 1,544,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,019,325. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.13. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $27.20 and a fifty-two week high of $40.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.94 and its 200 day moving average is $31.35.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. 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 dividend yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $4,842,976.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,387,987.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,776 shares in the company, valued at $13,387,987.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 over the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

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.