ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $30.98 Million Stock Position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 949,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,217 shares during the period. Interpublic Group of Companies makes up approximately 1.6% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $30,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of IPG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,707,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,691,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,059 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,132,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $540,987,000 after purchasing an additional 226,086 shares in the last quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,722,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,204,630 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,291,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,286,000 after buying an additional 167,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,428,989 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $314,227,000 after buying an additional 133,527 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the business’s 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 $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,776 shares in the company, valued at $13,387,987.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the company’s 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 $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 in the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:IPG traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $30.72. 4,029,280 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,070,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $40.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.28.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 46.32%.

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.