Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Earns “Underweight” Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company reissued their underweight rating on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $26.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $28.00.

IPG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $34.00 to $32.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.57.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:IPG opened at $29.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. Interpublic Group of Companies has a one year low of $27.54 and a one year high of $35.17. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.74.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.98% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after acquiring an additional 828,150 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 5,710,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $166,117,000 after purchasing an additional 193,898 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,604,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,049,000 after buying an additional 255,250 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,157,000 after buying an additional 899,332 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,120,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,672,000 after acquiring an additional 41,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

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.