The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) Short Interest Update

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,740,000 shares, a drop of 8.5% from the March 15th total of 19,380,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 4,170,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.25.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:IPG traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $30.42. The company had a trading volume of 4,154,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,092,139. The company has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.27. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $40.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.57 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 94.9% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 764 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 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.