Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 52,800.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in WPP were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WPP by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,356,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $274,016,000 after buying an additional 1,734,750 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in WPP in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,757,000. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lifted its position in WPP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 81,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,174,000 after buying an additional 1,865 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in WPP by 67.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 55,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,863,000 after buying an additional 22,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in WPP by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 41,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,136,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WPP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays downgraded WPP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded WPP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

WPP Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of WPP stock opened at $39.91 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.68, a PEG ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $45.45 and its 200 day moving average is $49.62. WPP plc has a twelve month low of $38.90 and a twelve month high of $57.37.

WPP Increases Dividend

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