WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WPP. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of WPP in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded WPP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of WPP in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WPP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets downgraded WPP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st.

WPP Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:WPP opened at $23.20 on Friday. WPP has a twelve month low of $22.42 and a twelve month high of $57.37. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.48.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a $0.5033 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 447.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. WPP’s payout ratio is presently 16.25%.

Institutional Trading of WPP

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WPP by 27.2% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $255,124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,436,668 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in WPP by 50.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,448,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $92,937,000 after purchasing an additional 824,336 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in WPP by 12.2% in the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 626,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,930,000 after purchasing an additional 68,271 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in WPP by 10.8% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 470,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,486,000 after purchasing an additional 45,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in WPP by 11.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 283,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,744,000 after purchasing an additional 29,388 shares in the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About WPP

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.