Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Buys 325,269 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in Omnicom by 2,122.5% in Q4, buying 325,269 shares to hold 340,594 shares worth about $27.5 million (0.18% of the company).
• Omnicom's board authorized a $5.0 billion share buyback (up to ~38.1% of shares) and the company pays a $0.80 quarterly dividend (4.2% yield), though its reported payout ratio is unusually high at 653%.
• Omnicom missed Q4 expectations with $2.59 EPS vs. $2.94 consensus and $5.53B revenue vs. $7.58B expected; the stock trades near $75.73, analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $95.86.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 2,122.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 340,594 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 325,269 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.18% of Omnicom Group worth $27,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 64.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,934,118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,143,930,000 after buying an additional 15,220,444 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,384,980,000 after buying an additional 2,298,652 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 worth $660,969,000 after buying an additional 1,893,316 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,870,437 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $635,538,000 after buying an additional 433,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 73.6% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,652,469 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $542,376,000 after purchasing an additional 2,820,553 shares during the period. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on OMC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.86.

Omnicom Group Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Omnicom Group stock opened at $75.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.85. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.33 and a 12-month high of $87.17. The company has a market capitalization of $21.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.35). Omnicom Group had a positive return on equity of 25.65% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.The company had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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 10.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to reacquire up to 38.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio is 653.06%.

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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