Blue Trust Inc. Has $70,000 Stake in WPP PLC $WPP

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP) by 41.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in WPP were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 88.3% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 996 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 3,450.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of WPP in the first quarter valued at about $75,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 323.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 4,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 8.0% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WPP Price Performance

WPP opened at $23.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.63. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.95. WPP PLC has a 1 year low of $22.42 and a 1 year high of $57.37.

WPP Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WPP. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of WPP in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of WPP in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered WPP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded WPP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of WPP in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

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.