44,558 Shares in WPP PLC $WPP Bought by Range Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Range Financial Group LLC acquired 44,558 shares of WPP PLC, valued at approximately $1,560,000, marking a significant new investment in the company.
• Recent analyst ratings show mixed sentiments for WPP, with one firm downgrading the stock from a "strong-buy" to a "hold," while Deutsche Bank maintains a "buy" rating.
• WPP recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.5033 per share, resulting in an extraordinary yield of 1,060.0%, despite a current dividend payout ratio of only 8.21%.

Range Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 44,558 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WPP. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in WPP by 101.0% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 34,978 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 17,576 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in WPP by 15.2% in the first quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 93,542 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 12,330 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in WPP by 120.2% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,452 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 25,359 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC boosted its stake in WPP by 604.0% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 33,708 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 28,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in WPP in the first quarter valued at $382,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WPP. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of WPP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating on shares of WPP in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of WPP in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of WPP from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

WPP Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE WPP opened at $26.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.97. WPP PLC has a 52-week low of $24.28 and a 52-week high of $57.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.5033 per share. This represents a yield of 1,060.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. WPP's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

WPP 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.

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