AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Omnicom Group, owning over 1 million shares after a 1,836.5% increase in the 1st quarter, which values their shareholding at around $89 million.
• Omnicom Group reported $2.05 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, along with a revenue of $4.02 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70, equating to an annual yield of 3.6%, indicating a healthy payout ratio of 40.17%.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 1,836.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,086,752 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,030,633 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.56% of Omnicom Group worth $89,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OMC. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 145,652 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,550,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,604 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Omnicom Group in the 4th quarter valued at $1,118,000. Crestline Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 157.0% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 9,580 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $824,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 708.8% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 461 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on OMC shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Omnicom Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays cut shares of Omnicom Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.43.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

Shares of OMC traded down $1.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $75.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,155,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,537. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.87, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.97. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.37 and a 12-month high of $107.00.

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

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Omnicom Group's payout ratio is 40.17%.

Omnicom Group 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.