Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 45,726 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has reduced its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. by 6.5%, selling 45,726 shares, and now holds 657,994 shares valued at $54.55 million.
• Analyst ratings for Omnicom Group have been mixed, with Barclays downgrading the stock to "equal weight" and various firms adjusting their price targets, indicating a moderate overall sentiment.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, reflecting a 3.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 40.17%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 657,994 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 45,726 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Omnicom Group worth $54,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robinson Value Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Omnicom Group by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Robinson Value Management Ltd. now owns 34,217 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,837,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 45.7% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 456 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.1% during the first quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 6.1% during the first quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 2,756 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,126 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on OMC. Bank of America raised Omnicom Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Omnicom Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Barclays lowered Omnicom Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.43.

Omnicom Group Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of OMC traded up $0.61 on Monday, reaching $78.34. The stock had a trading volume of 1,767,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,433,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.92. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.37 and a 12-month high of $107.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.88.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The business services provider reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.95 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 33.62% and a net margin of 8.67%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Omnicom Group's payout ratio is presently 40.17%.

Omnicom Group Company Profile

Omnicom Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services. It provides a range of services in the areas of advertising and media, precision marketing, commerce and branding, experiential, execution and support, public relations, and healthcare.