Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 70,521 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 70,521 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $60,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AM Squared Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter. AM Squared Ltd now owns 3,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $28.20 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 1.14. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $26.15 and a one year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.68%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on IPG shares. Barclays raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. 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 MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

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.