Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 21,726 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 248,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,726 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $8,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 26,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $870,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in Interpublic Group of Companies by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 12,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IPG. UBS Group assumed coverage on Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Interpublic Group of Companies news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,870. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,646 shares of company stock valued at $8,038,601 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Interpublic Group of Companies stock opened at $30.96 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.13. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $27.20 and a 12-month high of $40.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Interpublic Group of Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.