AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stock Position in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 274.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,172 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $2,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. grew its holdings in Omnicom Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 3,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its position in Omnicom Group by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 5,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 762 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OMC. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.71.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

Shares of OMC stock opened at $74.36 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $75.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.51. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.33 and a 12 month high of $87.17. The company has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a PE ratio of 190.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.66.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The company had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Omnicom Group’s quarterly revenue was up 69.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 38.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 820.51%.

About Omnicom Group

Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE: OMC) is a global marketing and corporate communications holding company headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1986 through the merger of the BBDO, DDB and Needham Harper agencies, Omnicom has built a portfolio of leading brands and networks serving clients across diverse industries.

The company’s primary business activities encompass advertising, strategic media planning and buying, digital and interactive marketing, direct and promotional marketing, public relations, and customer relationship management.