Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Trading Down 5.2% – Here’s What Happened

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)’s stock price fell 5.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $29.66 and last traded at $29.98. 951,228 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 3,894,150 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Macquarie lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.76.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 571.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,466,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,062 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $158,157,000 after purchasing an additional 899,332 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 101.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,690,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,162,000 after acquiring an additional 853,287 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after buying an additional 828,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $20,493,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.