WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) Short Interest Down 21.8% in March

WPP plc (NYSE:WPP - Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 300,400 shares, a decline of 21.8% from the February 28th total of 384,100 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 241,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WPP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WPP. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WPP by 20.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,981 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,688 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in WPP by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 3,452 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in WPP by 2.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 41,755 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WPP by 22.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,658 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WPP by 47.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,356,064 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $274,016,000 after buying an additional 1,734,750 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.34% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WPP shares. Kepler Capital Markets upgraded shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WPP in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of WPP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

WPP Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE WPP traded up $1.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.53. The company had a trading volume of 602,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,871. WPP has a 12 month low of $34.62 and a 12 month high of $57.37. The stock has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.29, a PEG ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $44.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.89.

WPP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.9728 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from WPP's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. This represents a dividend yield of 6.2%. WPP's dividend 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.