Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New $757,000 Investment in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 23,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,722,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $278,649,000 after buying an additional 1,204,630 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,291,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $266,286,000 after buying an additional 167,810 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,385,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,317,000 after acquiring an additional 414,110 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,635,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $132,852,000 after acquiring an additional 916,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,038,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,076,000 after acquiring an additional 160,312 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.43% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,364,958. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Philippe Krakowsky sold 150,403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $4,842,976.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 415,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,387,987.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Christopher F. Carroll sold 18,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $591,900.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,390 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,958. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on IPG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of 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 price objective 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 report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:IPG opened at $31.47 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $27.20 and a one year high of $40.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 29.70%. The company’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 EPS. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a boost from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

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.