Cwm LLC Sells 4,962 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Cwm LLC cut its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,962 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,204,630 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.6% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,635,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,852,000 after acquiring an additional 916,574 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 212.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 827,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,708,000 after acquiring an additional 562,823 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,439,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 503,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,443,000 after acquiring an additional 503,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at about $14,408,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the firm’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 owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the firm’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 owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,387,987.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $30.99 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.35. The firm has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued 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 yield of 4.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on IPG shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 research note on Friday, February 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.25.

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.