Whittier Trust Co. Sells 1,696 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,696 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $26.51 on Monday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $25.85 and a twelve month high of $33.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.08. 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 issued its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

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

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.