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

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.47. The stock had a trading volume of 3,576,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,327,666. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.13. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

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

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.