Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,500 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OMC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,041,818 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,982,518,000 after purchasing an additional 99,424 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 20.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,178,226 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $595,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,151,708 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $442,453,000 after purchasing an additional 51,148 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,882,800 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $334,076,000 after purchasing an additional 747,575 shares during the period. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 3,401,890 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $292,698,000 after purchasing an additional 224,870 shares during the period. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on OMC shares. Barclays lowered Omnicom Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America upgraded Omnicom Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Omnicom Group from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Omnicom Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Omnicom Group from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.43.

Omnicom Group Stock Performance

OMC stock traded up $3.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.01. 8,621,301 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,721,685. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.92. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.37 and a 1 year high of $107.00.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The business services provider reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.95 billion. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 9.20%. Omnicom Group's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Omnicom Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.17%.

About Omnicom Group

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.