Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Takes Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.8% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.1% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 916,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,994,000 after acquiring an additional 127,182 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,620,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,253,000 after acquiring an additional 32,053 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.9% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 16,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $29.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.75. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.53 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted 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 return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.81.

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.