Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,874 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,753 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,874 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $90,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 26,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 30,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 12,845 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 31,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 998,829 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,602,000 after buying an additional 15,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 564,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,409,000 after buying an additional 24,396 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $30.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.98 and a 200 day moving average of $31.28. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.13. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 70,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 415,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,387,987.20. 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 currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.