Axa S.A. Sells 1,096,371 Shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG)

AXA S.A. lowered its stake in shares of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG - Free Report) by 89.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 125,199 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,096,371 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A.'s holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies were worth $3,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in IPG. West Oak Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 55,595 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 21,236 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 75.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,113 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Interpublic Group of Companies by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Interpublic Group of Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 59,844 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.43% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ellen Tobi Johnson sold 21,427 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.82, for a total transaction of $574,672.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 143,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,845,263.86. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Interpublic Group of Companies Stock Performance

Shares of IPG stock traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, reaching $25.80. The stock had a trading volume of 373,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,140,682. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.51 and a 1 year high of $33.05. The stock has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE:IPG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.03. Interpublic Group of Companies had a return on equity of 27.10% and a net margin of 6.45%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. will post 2.66 EPS for the current year.

Interpublic Group of Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $155.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Interpublic Group of Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.12%. Interpublic Group of Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus cut Interpublic Group of Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $27.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research note on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Interpublic Group of Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Interpublic Group of Companies from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $39.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.44.

Interpublic Group of Companies 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.