WPP (NYSE:WPP) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold" Rating

Key Points

• WPP has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, moving up from a previous "sell" rating.
• Other analysts have mixed views, with Barclays maintaining an "underweight" rating and Zacks Research downgrading to a "strong sell."
• WPP's stock opened at $27.16, with a market capitalization of $5.86 billion and a notable 12-month high of $57.37.

WPP (NYSE:WPP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

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

WPP Stock Performance

NYSE:WPP opened at $27.16 on Friday. WPP has a 12-month low of $24.28 and a 12-month high of $57.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a PE ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.38.

Institutional Trading of WPP

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WPP. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WPP by 27.2% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 6,720,858 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $255,124,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,668 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 824,336 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its stake in shares of WPP by 12.2% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 626,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $21,930,000 after purchasing an additional 68,271 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of WPP by 10.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 470,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,486,000 after purchasing an additional 45,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of WPP during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,560,000. 4.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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