Bank of America Corp DE Has $21.70 Million Stock Position in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its stake in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 422,222 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 27,295 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.20% of WPP worth $21,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WPP by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,623,960 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $83,472,000 after buying an additional 172,212 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WPP in the fourth quarter valued at $8,724,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WPP in the fourth quarter valued at $2,292,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WPP in the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of WPP by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,476 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded WPP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays lowered WPP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WPP in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. 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, WPP has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

WPP Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE WPP traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.10. 194,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 216,214. WPP plc has a 1-year low of $31.52 and a 1-year high of $57.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.92. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.04.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.9728 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 6.2%. This is a boost from WPP's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. WPP's payout ratio is presently 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.