Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in WPP PLC $WPP

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,764 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of WPP by 88.3% in the 1st 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 raised its stake in WPP by 3,450.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in WPP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $75,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of WPP by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of WPP by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,194 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of WPP in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Kepler Capital Markets cut shares of WPP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of WPP in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WPP from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of WPP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. 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 has an average rating of “Reduce”.

WPP Stock Performance

WPP stock opened at $23.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.95. WPP PLC has a one year low of $22.42 and a one year high of $57.37.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.5033 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a yield of 447.0%. WPP’s dividend payout ratio is 16.08%.

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.