Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.1429.

A number of brokerages recently commented on OMC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted 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. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on Omnicom Group from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on Omnicom Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock.

Omnicom Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of OMC opened at $79.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Omnicom Group has a 1 year low of $68.37 and a 1 year high of $89.35.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $2.24 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 firm had revenue of $4.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Omnicom Group will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 19th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 19th. This is a positive change from Omnicom Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Omnicom Group’s payout ratio is presently 47.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Omnicom Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,811,406 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,712,993,000 after acquiring an additional 344,652 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Omnicom Group by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,863,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298,652 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Omnicom Group by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,107,021 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $660,969,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,316 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,870,437 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $635,538,000 after buying an additional 433,461 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 73.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,652,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $542,376,000 after buying an additional 2,820,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.97% of the company’s stock.

About Omnicom Group

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.