Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 57.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,578,075 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,117,188 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $690,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,566,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 274.5% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 31,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 23,172 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 4,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $799,000. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Omnicom Group Stock Performance

OMC opened at $72.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 186.72, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.66. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.33 and a 1-year high of $87.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 24.48%. The company’s revenue was up 69.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 38.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 820.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OMC. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of Omnicom Group to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Omnicom Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.13.

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.