Westpac Banking Corp Sells 8,078 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,478 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,078 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $2,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 406.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 126,306 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $9,407,000 after buying an additional 101,348 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Omnicom Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Arvest Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,969,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Omnicom Group by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 433,144 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,471,000 after acquiring an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 1,627.9% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 66,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,752,000 after purchasing an additional 62,640 shares during the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Linda Johnson Rice sold 453 shares of Omnicom Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.68, for a total value of $41,984.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $911,044.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on OMC. StockNews.com upgraded Omnicom Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Omnicom Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Omnicom Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Omnicom Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $104.40.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OMC traded up $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,101,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,723. Omnicom Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.20 and a twelve month high of $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average is $93.70 and its 200 day moving average is $87.73.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.58 billion. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 38.23%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 7.84 EPS for the current year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.84%.

About Omnicom Group

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.