Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Invests $612,000 in WPP PLC $WPP

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has acquired a new stake in WPP PLC by purchasing 16,114 shares valued at approximately $612,000 during the first quarter.
• WPP recently faced mixed ratings from analysts, with Barclays issuing an "underweight" rating, while Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.5033 per share, yielding 1,060.0%, with a payout ratio of 8.21%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in WPP PLC (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,114 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $612,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of WPP in the first quarter worth $382,000. Inlet Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of WPP by 31.0% in the first quarter. Inlet Private Wealth LLC now owns 27,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of WPP by 88.3% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 996 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of WPP by 120.2% during 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 buying an additional 25,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceera Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of WPP by 77.4% during the first quarter. Ceera Investments LLC now owns 28,490 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 12,430 shares during the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WPP Stock Performance

NYSE:WPP traded up $0.7380 on Friday, hitting $27.1380. The stock had a trading volume of 402,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 497,257. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $29.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.53. 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 PLC has a 52-week low of $24.28 and a 52-week high of $57.37. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.01.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.5033 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 1,060.0%. WPP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WPP. Kepler Capital Markets cut WPP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut WPP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of WPP in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of WPP in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut WPP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WPP presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

About WPP

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.