The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Shares Acquired by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,072,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $30,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 571.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,466,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,657,000 after buying an additional 1,248,062 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 168.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 831,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,186,000 after buying an additional 521,546 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 177.3% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,321,000 after acquiring an additional 451,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 44.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,356,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,447,000 after acquiring an additional 417,766 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.2 %

IPG stock opened at $27.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $28.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.05. 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 Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $35.17. The firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

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.