Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

IPG stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.47. 3,576,757 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,327,666. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.37. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1-year low of $27.20 and a 1-year high of $40.95. The company has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors 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 yield of 4.19%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on IPG shares. UBS Group started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.13.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $4,842,976.60. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at $2,267,878.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.