Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Invests $361,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,699,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake 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 during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 260.2% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,356,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $273,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313,700 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 404.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,875,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $65,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,107,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 405.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,849,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483,547 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $30.45 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.90. The stock has a market cap of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $25.14 and a one year high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The business services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.13. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.72% and a net margin of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $2.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on IPG. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $43.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

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.