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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,958. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the first quarter worth about $133,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 52,667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 3,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 63,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,489,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,070,143. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 52-week low of $27.20 and a 52-week high of $40.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.28. The company has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.32%.

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.