Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.01, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 10.09% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

IPG opened at $30.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.35. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $40.95. The stock has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.13.

Interpublic Group of Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.26%. 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 payout ratio is presently 46.32%.

Insider Activity at Interpublic Group of Companies

In related news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Andrew Bonzani sold 40,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $1,303,069.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,878.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 40,393 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $1,300,654.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,844,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 249,646 shares of company stock worth $8,038,601 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on IPG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.25.

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.