Raymond James & Associates Raises Holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 45,117 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.24% of Omnicom Group worth $46,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,745,400 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,437,000 after purchasing an additional 374,874 shares during the period. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its position in Omnicom Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 4,197,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $363,148,000 after acquiring an additional 42,075 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,727,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $277,726,000 after acquiring an additional 664,800 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Omnicom Group by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,032,265 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,842,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503,249 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,598,915 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,832,000 after acquiring an additional 186,562 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Omnicom Group Stock Performance

OMC traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $92.75. 1,436,571 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,716,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.96. Omnicom Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.20 and a fifty-two week high of $99.23.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 38.23% and a net margin of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 7.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Omnicom Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Omnicom Group news, Director Linda Johnson Rice sold 507 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $43,936.62. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $845,194.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on OMC shares. StockNews.com upgraded Omnicom Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $117.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Omnicom Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $91.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Moffett Nathanson upped their price target on Omnicom Group from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Omnicom Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.40.

Omnicom Group Company Profile

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.