WPP (NYSE:WPP) Rating Lowered to "Equal Weight" at Barclays

Barclays cut shares of WPP (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WPP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

WPP Price Performance

WPP traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $39.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,288. WPP has a twelve month low of $39.01 and a twelve month high of $57.37. The stock has a market cap of $8.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.58, a PEG ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.02.

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WPP Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.9728 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a dividend yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from WPP's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. WPP's payout ratio is presently 8.04%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WPP by 47.9% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,356,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $274,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734,750 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in WPP during the 3rd quarter worth $35,757,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in WPP by 11.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WPP in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,724,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of WPP by 83.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 253,640 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,037,000 after purchasing an additional 115,416 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 4.34% of the company's stock.

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.