Brokerages Set The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Target Price at $33.50

Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $33.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock opened at $26.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.18. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $25.85 and a fifty-two week high of $33.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. Analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.13%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Interpublic Group of Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 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.