Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 30,251 Shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 82.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30,251 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in WPP were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPP. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of WPP by 732.7% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 119,986 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,349,000 after purchasing an additional 105,577 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of WPP by 7.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 972,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,365,000 after purchasing an additional 64,087 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WPP by 27.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,901,000 after purchasing an additional 28,439 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of WPP by 1.8% in the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 383,698 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,105,000 after purchasing an additional 6,837 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of WPP in the third quarter worth approximately $303,000. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group downgraded shares of WPP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WPP presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

WPP Trading Up 2.0 %

WPP stock opened at $49.13 on Tuesday. WPP plc has a one year low of $41.13 and a one year high of $60.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.244 per share. This represents a yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th.

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.