Freedom Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. by 280.6%, acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the 1st quarter to reach a total of 16,880 shares valued at $1.4 million.
• Omnicom Group's stock has been reviewed by analysts, with Bank of America upgrading it to a "neutral" rating while Barclays downgraded it to "equal weight," both setting a new price target of $80.00.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, scheduled for payment on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 3.5%.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC - Free Report) by 280.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,880 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,445 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $1,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of OMC. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Omnicom Group by 17,506.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,744,080 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $227,512,000 after buying an additional 2,728,494 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Omnicom Group in the fourth quarter worth about $150,819,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 20.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Omnicom Group by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,882,041 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $402,598,000 after purchasing an additional 762,871 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Omnicom Group by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,851,294 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $236,401,000 after purchasing an additional 704,275 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Omnicom Group from $104.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays cut shares of Omnicom Group from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $105.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Omnicom Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.43.

Omnicom Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of OMC traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,047,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,645,557. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.97 and its 200 day moving average is $76.02. The firm has a market cap of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.80. 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 data on Tuesday, July 15th. The business services provider reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.95 billion. Omnicom Group had a net margin of 8.67% and a return on equity of 33.62%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Omnicom Group's payout ratio is currently 40.17%.

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.