West Oak Capital LLC Increases Stake in The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

West Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 775 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies during the fourth quarter worth $32,620,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 24.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,635,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $132,852,000 after purchasing an additional 916,574 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,922,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,954,000 after purchasing an additional 777,456 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 212.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 827,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,708,000 after purchasing an additional 562,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position 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 worth $34,862,000 after purchasing an additional 538,935 shares during the last quarter. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Interpublic Group of Companies from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Interpublic Group of Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

NYSE IPG traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.57. The stock had a trading volume of 4,762,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,910,616. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.59 and a 200 day moving average of $31.64. The stock has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.12. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 29.70% and a net margin of 9.97%. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. Interpublic Group of Companies’s payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.