KBC Group NV Grows Stock Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• KBC Group NV increased its stake in Omnicom by 10.6% in Q4 to 149,703 shares (about $12.09 million), representing roughly 0.08% of the company.
• Omnicom missed quarterly expectations, reporting $2.59 EPS versus $2.94 expected and revenue of $5.53 billion versus $7.58 billion expected, though revenue was up 27.9% year-over-year.
• The board approved a $5.0 billion share buyback (authorizing repurchases of up to 38.1% of shares) and paid a $0.80 quarterly dividend, implying a 4.1% yield.

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 149,703 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.08% of Omnicom Group worth $12,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $515,145,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,652,469 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $542,376,000 after acquiring an additional 2,820,553 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,863,327 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,298,652 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,107,021 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $660,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 122.3% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,663,251 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $135,605,000 after acquiring an additional 914,885 shares during the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Omnicom Group Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE OMC opened at $78.62 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.90. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.33 and a 12 month high of $87.17. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 160.44, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.73.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 25.65%. The company had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 653.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Argus raised shares of Omnicom Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Omnicom Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.86.

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.

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