Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 6,688 Shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,688 shares during the period. Balanced Rock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in WPP were worth $263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WPP by 45.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 2,007 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in WPP by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,623,960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,472,000 after purchasing an additional 172,212 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in WPP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,724,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in WPP in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of WPP by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 3,551 shares during the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WPP. Barclays downgraded WPP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WPP in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

WPP Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WPP opened at $35.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.06. WPP plc has a 12 month low of $31.52 and a 12 month high of $57.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.54 and a 200-day moving average of $47.40.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from WPP’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. WPP’s payout ratio is 8.04%.

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.