WPP (NYSE:WPP) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of WPP (NYSE:WPP) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Citigroup raised WPP to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.00.

WPP Price Performance

NYSE WPP opened at $47.40 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $46.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a PEG ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. WPP has a 1-year low of $41.13 and a 1-year high of $54.21.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $0.954 dividend. This is a boost from WPP’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. This represents a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. WPP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WPP

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its stake in WPP by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 652,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $30,232,000 after buying an additional 42,690 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in WPP by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in WPP by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,431 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 4,086 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in WPP in the 2nd quarter worth $283,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in WPP by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 191,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,247,000 after buying an additional 80,102 shares in the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is 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.