WPP (NYSE:WPP) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of WPP (NYSE:WPP) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

WPP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPP opened at $43.23 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.28. WPP has a twelve month low of $41.13 and a twelve month high of $54.21.

WPP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.954 per share. This is a boost from WPP’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This represents a yield of 5.7%. WPP’s payout ratio is presently 31.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WPP

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WPP. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in WPP during the 2nd quarter worth about $458,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of WPP by 24.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 321,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,759,000 after buying an additional 63,363 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 15.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 199,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,115,000 after buying an additional 27,384 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WPP by 9.0% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in WPP during the second quarter valued at approximately $294,000. 4.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WPP Company Profile

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.