HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 66.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 186,077 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $6,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OMC. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Omnicom Group by 3.1% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,464 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC raised its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 7,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 5,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Omnicom Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Omnicom Group news, Director Linda Rice sold 1,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.73, for a total transaction of $122,891.05. Following the sale, the director owned 11,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,826.87. This trade represents a 10.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Omnicom Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Omnicom Group stock opened at $79.38 on Friday. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.33 and a 1 year high of $89.57. The firm has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a PE ratio of 68.43, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.90.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 24.73% and a net margin of 1.74%.Omnicom Group’s quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 EPS. Analysts expect that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 18th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 18th. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 275.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on OMC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Omnicom Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on Omnicom Group in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $89.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research cut Omnicom Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Omnicom Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Omnicom Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.00.

Omnicom Group Company Profile

Omnicom Group Inc (NYSE: OMC) is a global marketing and communications holding company. Through a network of agencies and specialized businesses, it provides advertising, branding, media planning and buying, public relations, customer relationship management, digital marketing, experiential marketing and healthcare communications services.

Omnicom’s agency brands have included BBDO Worldwide, DDB Worldwide, TBWA\Worldwide, Omnicom Media Group, FleishmanHillard and Ketchum. These businesses serve clients across industries, including consumer products, healthcare, technology, financial services, automotive and telecommunications, helping organizations develop brand strategies, create campaigns and engage audiences through traditional and digital channels.

Omnicom was formed in 1986 through the merger of advertising companies BBDO, Doyle Dane Bernbach and Needham Harper Worldwide.