Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 58,293 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 230,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 58,293 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $6,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,938,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $362,538,000 after purchasing an additional 511,607 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after purchasing an additional 7,374,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 5,402,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,089,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total value of $574,672.14. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $26.29 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.85 and a 12 month high of $33.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $27.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.91. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 27.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IPG. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

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.