Morningstar Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management cut its Omnicom Group stake by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 54,536 shares and leaving it with 128,596 shares worth about $10.38 million.
• Omnicom’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $1.90 versus the $1.84 estimate and revenue of $6.24 billion versus the $5.85 billion forecast. The company also said revenue rose sharply year over year.
• The company continues to support shareholders with a $0.80 quarterly dividend and a new $5 billion share buyback authorization. Analysts currently have an average Hold rating on the stock with a price target of $93.71.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 128,596 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 54,536 shares during the period. Omnicom Group makes up about 0.6% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Morningstar Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Omnicom Group worth $10,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 108,310 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,831,000 after purchasing an additional 14,368 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,877,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $153,068,000 after purchasing an additional 295,379 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Omnicom Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $870,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 129,755 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,579,000 after purchasing an additional 25,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 111,161 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $9,063,000 after purchasing an additional 29,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Omnicom Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.71.

Omnicom Group Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of OMC opened at $74.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 192.19, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.49. Omnicom Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.33 and a twelve month high of $87.17.

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

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 820.51%.

Omnicom Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to buy up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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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