Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Omnicom Group Inc. $OMC

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,087,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 29,096 shares during the period. Omnicom Group makes up about 1.5% of Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Omnicom Group were worth $88,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OMC. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Omnicom Group by 62.2% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 781,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,732,000 after buying an additional 299,755 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Omnicom Group in the third quarter worth $230,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its holdings in Omnicom Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 41,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,542 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Omnicom Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,764,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $143,820,000 after acquiring an additional 97,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in Omnicom Group by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 108,415 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,839,000 after acquiring an additional 40,058 shares during the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Omnicom Group Trading Down 0.2%

Omnicom Group stock opened at $77.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.33 and a 12 month high of $87.17. The stock has a market cap of $24.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 158.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.71.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The business services provider reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.94 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $5.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.58 billion. Omnicom Group had a positive return on equity of 25.65% and a negative net margin of 0.32%.Omnicom Group’s revenue was up 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 653.06%.

Omnicom Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 18th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 38.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Omnicom Group from $99.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Omnicom Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.