First Horizon Advisors Inc. Purchases 630 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 630 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in IPG. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 243,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,437 shares in the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE IPG opened at $27.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.68. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.30 and a twelve month high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $155.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 is Monday, March 3rd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. UBS Group upgraded Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. BNP Paribas raised Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.