OLD Mission Capital LLC Sells 29,364 Shares of Wpp Plc $WPP

Key Points

• OLD Mission Capital LLC reduced its stake in WPP Plc by 38.5%, selling 29,364 shares and now holding 46,942 shares worth approximately $1.78 million.
• Despite some institutional investors increasing their positions in WPP, the company's stock rating has faced downgrades, with Zacks Research moving it from "hold" to "strong sell."
• WPP recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.5033, providing a substantial yield of 1,060%, scheduled for payment on November 3rd.

OLD Mission Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wpp Plc (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) by 38.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,942 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 29,364 shares during the quarter. OLD Mission Capital LLC's holdings in WPP were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WPP. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WPP by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720,858 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $255,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,668 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WPP by 50.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,448,296 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $92,937,000 after buying an additional 824,336 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 115,416 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in WPP in the 4th quarter valued at $2,292,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in WPP by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 484,996 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,928,000 after buying an additional 35,412 shares during the last quarter. 4.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WPP shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of WPP in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of WPP from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of WPP in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

WPP Stock Performance

NYSE WPP traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $26.77. 235,123 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 369,209. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 0.97. Wpp Plc has a 12-month low of $24.28 and a 12-month high of $57.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $28.56 and a 200-day moving average of $35.39.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.5033 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a dividend yield of 1,060.0%. WPP's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

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.