Toroso Investments LLC Acquires 5,016 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Toroso Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG – Get Rating) by 12.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 46,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,196.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,280,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,651,000 after acquiring an additional 5,796,432 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 26.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,082,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,774,011 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 18.6% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 6,864,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $175,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,237 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $1,691,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,059 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 11.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,694,955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $211,785,000 after buying an additional 814,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG opened at $33.73 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.14 and a 12 month high of $39.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The business services provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.01. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 30.58% and a net margin of 8.58%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 earnings per share. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 52.10%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. Moffett Nathanson lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $22.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.25.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 16,507 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total value of $586,658.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 55,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,129.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 38,885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.61, for a total value of $1,384,694.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 111,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,980,094.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 16,507 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.54, for a total transaction of $586,658.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 55,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,969,129.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,779 shares of company stock worth $3,250,936 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company Profile

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Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc engages in the provision of marketing, communications, and business transformation services. It operates through the following segments: Media, Data, and Engagement Solutions, Integrated Advertising and Creativity Led Solutions, and Specialized Communications and Experiential Solutions.