Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Buys 49,509 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 13.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,509 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned about 0.11% of Interpublic Group of Companies worth $13,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of IPG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,491,000 after purchasing an additional 105,858 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 392,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,820,000 after purchasing an additional 92,692 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 488,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,960,000 after purchasing an additional 91,894 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 32.5% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 99,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,857,000 after purchasing an additional 24,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 338,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,688,000 after purchasing an additional 47,184 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $30.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,066,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,566,049. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.20 and a fifty-two week high of $40.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day moving average of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This is a positive change from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 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 transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,870. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IPG. UBS Group began coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.13.

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.