Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 69,100 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 154,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69,100 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $4,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of IPG. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 25,637.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,403,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $207,439,000 after acquiring an additional 7,374,491 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 15.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,844,859 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920,975 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,402,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,246,000 after purchasing an additional 417,741 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,041,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,205,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,783,000 after purchasing an additional 289,014 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.95 and a 200-day moving average of $29.68. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.30 and a 1-year high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.15 by ($0.04). Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Friday, February 21st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies currently 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.