Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in WPP by 47.9% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,356,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $274,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,734,750 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of WPP in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,757,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WPP in the 4th quarter valued at $8,724,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WPP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 81,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of WPP by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 55,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,863,000 after acquiring an additional 22,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WPP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of WPP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of WPP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th.

WPP Stock Performance

Shares of WPP opened at $40.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.57. WPP plc has a 1 year low of $38.90 and a 1 year high of $57.37.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.9728 per share. This is a positive change from WPP’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. This represents a dividend yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. WPP’s payout ratio is presently 8.04%.

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.