Stevens Capital Management LP Invests $257,000 in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 7,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 229,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,491,000 after purchasing an additional 105,858 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 392,769 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,820,000 after acquiring an additional 92,692 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 99,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,857,000 after acquiring an additional 24,459 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 488,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,960,000 after acquiring an additional 91,894 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 338,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,688,000 after acquiring an additional 47,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,844,870. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $591,900.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.47. 3,576,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,078,312. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.91 and a 200 day moving average of $31.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.20 and a 52 week high of $40.95.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.80% and a net margin of 9.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IPG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group started coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

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.