Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (IPG): Hedge Funds Are Bullish and Insiders Are Bearish, What Should You Do?

Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) was in 27 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. IPG investors should be aware of an increase in enthusiasm from smart money in recent months. There were 26 hedge funds in our database with IPG positions at the end of the previous quarter.

To the average investor, there are a multitude of indicators shareholders can use to watch their holdings. Some of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can trounce the S&P 500 by a superb margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, bullish insider trading activity is a second way to break down the investments you’re interested in. Just as you’d expect, there are many stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if investors know what to do (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, it’s important to take a look at the key action regarding Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG).

How are hedge funds trading Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 27 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 4% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, John W. Rogers’s Ariel Investments had the most valuable position in Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG), worth close to $232 million, comprising 4% of its total 13F portfolio. On Ariel Investments’s heels is Iridian Asset Management, managed by David Cohen and Harold Levy, which held a $185.8 million position; the fund has 2.7% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds with similar optimism include Richard S. Pzena’s Pzena Investment Management, Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.

Consequently, key hedge funds have been driving this bullishness. Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, initiated the biggest position in Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG). Pzena Investment Management had 142 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC also initiated a $130.2 million position during the quarter. The other funds with brand new IPG positions are Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management, and Daniel S. Och’s OZ Management.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG). These stocks are Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW), WPP PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:WPPGY), Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC), Focus Media Holding Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:FMCN), and Lamar Advertising Co (NASDAQ:LAMR). This group of stocks are the members of the advertising agencies industry and their market caps match IPG’s market cap.

With the returns shown by our research, everyday investors must always monitor hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Interpublic Group of Companies Inc (NYSE:IPG) applies perfectly to this mantra.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds