Captrust Financial Advisors Has $3.13 Million Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,105 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,894,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,090,000 after purchasing an additional 81,688 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 82,564 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,313,000 after buying an additional 8,434 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,039,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,709,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $47,899,000 after acquiring an additional 401,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,161,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $25.11 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.49. The stock has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.51 and a 12 month high of $33.05.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 5.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 100.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on IPG. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 Sunday, May 4th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.