New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 323,470 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,170 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $9,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 32,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 4,538 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 150,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 251,209 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,039,000 after purchasing an additional 97,877 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $27.56 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $28.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.79. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.30 and a 52 week high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. Analysts anticipate that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Macquarie reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

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.