Prudential PLC Acquires New Shares in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Omnicom Group by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its stake in Omnicom Group by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 17,004 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after buying an additional 8,801 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Omnicom Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $264,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Omnicom Group by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 52,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after buying an additional 21,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcrae Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Omnicom Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 225,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,206,000 after purchasing an additional 9,832 shares during the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on OMC. UBS Group increased their target price on Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Omnicom Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $146.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Omnicom Group from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus upgraded Omnicom Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $99.00.

Omnicom Group Price Performance

Shares of OMC opened at $75.12 on Tuesday. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.33 and a 1 year high of $87.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 192.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.45 and a 200-day moving average of $76.60.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.06. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 24.48% and a net margin of 0.32%.The company had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 69.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 10th. Omnicom Group’s payout ratio is presently 820.51%.

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

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.