Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys 156,232 Shares of Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 799,245 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 156,232 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $64,539,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. now owns 3,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 2.6% in the fourth 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 period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 17.7% in the second quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OMC has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Omnicom Group to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Omnicom Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.00.

Omnicom Group Stock Performance

NYSE OMC opened at $76.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.21, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.49 and a 200-day moving average of $76.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.33 and a 1-year high of $87.17.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The company 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 820.51%.

Omnicom Group announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 18th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the business services provider to reacquire up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management 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.