StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

Research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on IPG. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $24.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 1.01. Interpublic Group of Companies has a twelve month low of $22.51 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.40.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to purchase 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.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.