Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 42,354 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its position in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 600,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 42,354 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.31% of Omnicom Group worth $48,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bollard Group LLC boosted its stake in Omnicom Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 7,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 7.9% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its position in Omnicom Group by 3.1% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Omnicom Group by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Omnicom Group from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Omnicom Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Omnicom Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of OMC opened at $85.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.93. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.33 and a 52-week high of $89.27. The firm has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 173.85, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.29 and its 200-day moving average is $76.73.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.35). Omnicom Group had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 25.65%. The business had revenue of $5.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Omnicom Group’s payout ratio is 653.06%.

Omnicom Group announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the business services provider to buy up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Omnicom Group Company 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.