Carret Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

Carret Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 406.1% during the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 126,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,407,000 after buying an additional 101,348 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 433,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,471,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Omnicom Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,969,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 1,627.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 66,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,752,000 after buying an additional 62,640 shares during the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised Omnicom Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised Omnicom Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. BNP Paribas raised Omnicom Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Macquarie upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Omnicom Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.40.

Omnicom Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of OMC traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $96.45. 407,464 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,638,340. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.20 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $92.04 and its 200-day moving average is $85.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.97.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 38.23% and a net margin of 9.96%. The firm had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 7.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Omnicom Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Linda Johnson Rice sold 507 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.66, for a total value of $43,936.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $845,194.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.