Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Purchases 759,336 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group nearly doubled its Omnicom stake in the fourth quarter, buying 759,336 more shares and bringing its total holding to 1,541,037 shares, worth about $124.4 million.
• Omnicom continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with 91.97% of its stock held by institutional investors and several large firms, including Vanguard and State Street, also increasing positions.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results, and it also announced a $0.80 quarterly dividend plus a new $5 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in the stock.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 97.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,541,037 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 759,336 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.80% of Omnicom Group worth $124,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of OMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 64.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,934,118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,143,930,000 after purchasing an additional 15,220,444 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Omnicom Group by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,676,768 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,933,891,000 after acquiring an additional 6,813,441 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Omnicom Group during the third quarter worth $515,145,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Omnicom Group by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,283,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $911,172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,631,394 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,578,075 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $690,327,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117,188 shares during the period. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on OMC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.00.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

Omnicom Group stock opened at $77.26 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $75.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.73. The stock has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.63. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.33 and a 12-month high of $87.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.85 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 0.32%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 69.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 820.51%.

Omnicom Group declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 38.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Omnicom Group 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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