Conning Inc. Sells 54,355 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Conning Inc. trimmed its holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 423,528 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 54,355 shares during the quarter. Omnicom Group makes up approximately 1.1% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Conning Inc. owned 0.22% of Omnicom Group worth $34,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,811,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,712,993,000 after buying an additional 344,652 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Omnicom Group by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,869,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $566,152,000 after purchasing an additional 691,560 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Omnicom Group by 117.9% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,213,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $447,017,000 after purchasing an additional 3,362,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,339,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $382,717,000 after purchasing an additional 48,868 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 38.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,514,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $324,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,197 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on OMC. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Omnicom Group from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Omnicom Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.14.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

OMC stock opened at $80.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.74. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.37 and a 12 month high of $89.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.07. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 8.31% and a return on equity of 33.30%. The business had revenue of $4.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 19th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 19th. This is an increase from Omnicom Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.27%.

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.