The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.71.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on IPG shares. BNP Paribas cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $26.00 to $34.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG stock opened at $27.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.08 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.15. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12-month low of $26.88 and a 12-month high of $35.17. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 7.44%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IPG. State Street Corp increased its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,993,000 after buying an additional 3,920,975 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 532,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,479,000 after purchasing an additional 74,200 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 789,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,966,000 after purchasing an additional 222,693 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 240.9% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 20,395 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2,679.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 29,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% 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.