Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

IPG has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $34.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $28.00) on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.75.

Interpublic Group of Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE IPG traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.04. The company had a trading volume of 6,388,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,947,035. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12 month low of $27.54 and a 12 month high of $35.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.75.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Interpublic Group of Companies

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 571.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,466,376 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,657,000 after buying an additional 1,248,062 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 19.8% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,436,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,157,000 after purchasing an additional 899,332 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 101.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,690,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,162,000 after acquiring an additional 853,287 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,842,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $199,063,000 after buying an additional 828,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Interpublic Group of Companies in the 1st quarter worth $20,493,000. 98.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Interpublic Group of Companies Company 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.