South Dakota Investment Council Acquires New Stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC)

South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE:OMC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 4,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OMC. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Omnicom Group by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,118,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,468,615,000 after acquiring an additional 759,980 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Omnicom Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,100,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $525,960,000 after purchasing an additional 72,447 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Omnicom Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 819,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $84,741,000 after purchasing an additional 13,637 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Omnicom Group by 23.6% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 705,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $72,465,000 after purchasing an additional 134,927 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Omnicom Group by 16.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 695,216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $71,878,000 after buying an additional 97,661 shares in the last quarter. 91.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OMC. Barclays lowered their price objective on Omnicom Group from $121.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target on shares of Omnicom Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Omnicom Group from $110.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Argus cut shares of Omnicom Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Omnicom Group from $119.00 to $116.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.25.

Omnicom Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of OMC stock opened at $83.70 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.15. Omnicom Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.31 and a 52 week high of $107.00. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The business services provider reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.03. Omnicom Group had a return on equity of 36.39% and a net margin of 9.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Analysts predict that Omnicom Group Inc. will post 8.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Omnicom Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Omnicom Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.58%.

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.