Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stock Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Omnicom by 52.4%, acquiring 30,127 shares to hold 87,653 shares valued at about $7.08 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 91.97% of OMC.
• Omnicom missed quarterly expectations (EPS $2.59 vs. $2.94 est.; revenue $5.53B vs. $7.58B est.), but its board authorized a $5.0 billion share buyback and the company pays a $0.80 quarterly dividend (about a 4.2% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a MarketBeat consensus of "Hold" and a $95.86 target; individual notes range from Citigroup's $115 (buy) to Bank of America's $77 (underperform).

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 52.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,653 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 30,127 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $7,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of OMC. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Omnicom Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 2,126.7% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 334 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Omnicom Group by 289.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Omnicom Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 404 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Omnicom Group from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Argus raised shares of Omnicom Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.86.

Omnicom Group Stock Performance

NYSE:OMC opened at $75.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $21.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $78.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.83. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.33 and a 1-year high of $87.17.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by ($0.35). Omnicom Group had a positive return on equity of 25.65% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.92 EPS for the current year.

Omnicom Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to reacquire up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 653.06%.

Omnicom Group Company Profile

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.

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