Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 14,131 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its Omnicom Group stake by 5.6% in the first quarter, selling 14,131 shares and ending with 238,369 shares valued at about $17.95 million.
• Omnicom shares were up 1.4% to $81.97, and the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.90 and revenue of $6.24 billion, both above analyst estimates.
• Omnicom declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share for a 3.9% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $99.38.

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,369 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 14,131 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.08% of Omnicom Group worth $17,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in OMC. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 7,710 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 552.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 101,331 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,631,000 after purchasing an additional 85,798 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new position in shares of Omnicom Group in the 1st quarter valued at $1,301,000. Conning Inc. increased its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 432,749 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,590,000 after buying an additional 24,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC raised its stake in Omnicom Group by 226.9% during the 1st quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 2,200 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the period. 91.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Omnicom Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE OMC traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.97. The company had a trading volume of 2,425,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,929,007. Omnicom Group Inc. has a one year low of $66.33 and a one year high of $87.17. The company has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a PE ratio of 210.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.73.

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

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 820.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Omnicom Group in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Omnicom Group in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $146.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Omnicom Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $99.38.

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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