Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG)

The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 8,085 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,414% compared to the typical daily volume of 534 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 883 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies during the third quarter worth $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Interpublic Group of Companies by 652.2% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,038 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Interpublic Group of Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 98.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on IPG. Bank of America lowered their price target on Interpublic Group of Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 5th. StockNews.com raised Interpublic Group of Companies from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Interpublic Group of Companies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $36.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Macquarie reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $28.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.57.

Interpublic Group of Companies Price Performance

NYSE IPG opened at $27.09 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Interpublic Group of Companies has a 12-month low of $27.01 and a 12-month high of $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.10.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. Interpublic Group of Companies had a net margin of 7.44% and a return on equity of 27.76%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. Interpublic Group of Companies’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Interpublic Group of Companies will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Interpublic Group of Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

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.