The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.57.

IPG has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.50 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE IPG opened at $29.26 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.10. Interpublic Group of Companies has a fifty-two week low of $26.88 and a fifty-two week high of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,426,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $393,064,000 after acquiring an additional 270,857 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $298,107,000 after acquiring an additional 81,265 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after purchasing an additional 828,150 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.5% during the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,710,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,117,000 after purchasing an additional 193,898 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.