QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 405,991 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

QRG Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 86.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,947 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 405,991 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $2,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,096,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $459,975,000 after buying an additional 1,516,975 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $32,620,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,922,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,954,000 after buying an additional 777,456 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 101.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,068,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $34,862,000 after buying an additional 538,935 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1,439,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 503,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,443,000 after acquiring an additional 503,720 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,199,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,895,733. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.20 and its 200-day moving average is $31.37. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $40.90. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.12.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IPG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.88.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.