Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 169,724 WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 169,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,724,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of WPP by 52,800.0% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WPP by 453.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of WPP by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of WPP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WPP during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WPP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut shares of WPP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

WPP Price Performance

WPP stock opened at $40.36 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.34. WPP plc has a fifty-two week low of $38.90 and a fifty-two week high of $57.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.20.

WPP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.9728 per share. This is a positive change from WPP’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a yield of 6.2%. WPP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.