Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,449,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,265 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $298,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

Shares of IPG stock opened at $29.89 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $30.05 and its 200 day moving average is $30.37. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.88 and a twelve month high of $35.17.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is 62.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on IPG shares. UBS Group cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $34.00 to $29.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. BNP Paribas lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $26.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.71.

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.