CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 2,419 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,672 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,419 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $266,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter worth approximately $107,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 7,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Interpublic Group of Companies

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares in the company, valued at $3,845,263.86. This trade represents a 13.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Down 3.6 %

Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $23.70 on Friday. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.67 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 72.13%.

Interpublic Group of Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.