State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System has recently cut its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG) by 2.9% according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor sold 12,090 shares during the fourth quarter and now owns 399,245 shares in IPG. This represents 0.10% ownership of IPG worth $13,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Recently, Interpublic Group of Companies announced a quarterly dividend that was paid on March 15th to investors who were on record as of March 1st. The dividend amount was $0.31 per share representing a positive change from their previous quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share. Investors can expect an annualized dividend payout ratio (DPR) of approximately 53.68% resulting in a dividend yield of 3.43%.
Several research firms have commented on IPG including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays and Citigroup with buy and hold ratings while Moffett Nathanson downgraded IPG from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating.
Despite this downward adjustment in ownership percentage by State Board of Administration in Q4, there remains optimism regarding performance capabilities and future profitability as expressed by research firms and past dividends received. It is only natural that investors adjust or fine-tune their portfolios based on market shifts; however, overall sentiment towards Interpublic Group appears positive enough to retain investment interest moving forward.
Hedge Funds and Executives Make Moves as Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. Reports Positive Quarterly Earnings
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) has recently seen significant purchases and sales of its shares by various hedge funds and institutional investors, according to SEC filings. Lynwood Capital Management Inc., Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV, J.W. Coons Advisors LLC, Fox Run Management L.L.C., and Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. are among those who have acquired or sold stakes in the company during the fourth quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of IPG’s stock.
However, some executives within the company have also been selling their shares in recent weeks. CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold over 30,000 shares on March 1st for a total value of $1,082,339.72 whilst EVP Andrew Bonzani sold nearly 39,000 shares on the same day for a total value of $1,384,694.85.
Despite this activity, IPG has increased its quarterly dividend payment from $0.29 to $0.31 per share as of March 15th with an annualized yield of 3.43%. This positive news reflects the company’s reported quarterly earnings data announced on April 27th which included a $0.07 earnings-per-share beat on revenue figures that were up by over $300 million from last year.
The Interpublic Group of Companies carries out business services for clients worldwide through full-service advertising agencies like McCann Worldgroup and public relations firms such as Weber Shandwick and Golin among others.
With a market cap of $13.95 billion and trading at an average P/E ratio of around 15x earnings as well as having achieved positive revenue figures after having lost ground in the previous year’s Q4 reportedly due to political concerns affecting advertising spend; it remains to be seen how these changes will impact IPG’s future performance or how they will influence potential investors.
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