Northern Trust Corp Acquires 115,416 Shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP - Free Report) by 83.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 253,640 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 115,416 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.12% of WPP worth $13,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in WPP by 52,800.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 529 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in WPP by 453.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in WPP by 57.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,168 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WPP by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,368 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $173,000 after purchasing an additional 2,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in WPP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $194,000. Institutional investors own 4.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPP has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of WPP in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of WPP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of WPP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of WPP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

WPP Price Performance

NYSE:WPP traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.29. The stock had a trading volume of 590,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,663. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.42. WPP plc has a one year low of $31.52 and a one year high of $57.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.75, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.04.

WPP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.9728 dividend. This represents a yield of 6.2%. 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. WPP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.04%.

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.