Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) PT Lowered to $31.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

IPG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a neutral rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Five equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $35.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of IPG traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,125,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,047,438. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $31.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.35.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.80% and a net margin of 9.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid 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 yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,878.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,878.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,096,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $459,975,000 after buying an additional 1,516,975 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 621,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,275,000 after buying an additional 125,431 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 225,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,370,000 after buying an additional 23,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greylin Investment Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,000. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.