WPP (NYSE:WPP) Trading Down 1.6% – What’s Next?

WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) traded down 1.6% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $40.02 and last traded at $39.91. 48,617 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 247,590 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WPP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays cut shares of WPP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th.

WPP Trading Down 1.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.68, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $45.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.61.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.9728 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from WPP’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. This represents a yield of 6.2%. WPP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.04%.

Institutional Trading of WPP

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WPP by 45.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WPP during the fourth quarter worth $202,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of WPP by 92.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WPP by 22.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,658 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of WPP by 67.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 55,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,863,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares during 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.