Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 401 Shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in WPP were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in WPP by 187.0% during the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of WPP by 48.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in shares of WPP by 166.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of WPP by 54.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 973 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of WPP in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered WPP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com upgraded WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WPP from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

WPP Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of WPP opened at $46.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.70, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. WPP plc has a one year low of $41.13 and a one year high of $60.37. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.95.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.244 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. WPP’s payout ratio is currently 29.93%.

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.