Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 82.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,251 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WPP were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WPP. CWM LLC raised its position in WPP by 48.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in WPP by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in WPP by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in WPP by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 65,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,907,000 after buying an additional 3,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its position in WPP by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 8,337 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of WPP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

WPP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WPP opened at $49.13 on Tuesday. WPP plc has a 12 month low of $41.13 and a 12 month high of $60.05. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.244 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.3%.

WPP Profile

WPP plc, a creative transformation company, provides communications, experience, commerce, and technology services in North America, the United Kingdom, Western Continental Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Eastern Europe. The company operates through three segments: Global Integrated Agencies, Public Relations, and Specialist Agencies.