Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. Has $247.03 Million Stock Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,816,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,357 shares during the quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. owned about 2.37% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $247,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 39.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $26.29 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.85 and a one year high of $33.05. 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 company has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.94.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on IPG. UBS Group raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Insider Transactions at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 143,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,845,263.86. This represents a 13.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.