Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 157,371 WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 157,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,486,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.07% of WPP as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in WPP by 187.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of WPP by 48.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 864 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of WPP by 166.8% during 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 last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 54.0% during 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 purchased a new position in WPP in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of WPP from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. UBS Group cut WPP from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

WPP Price Performance

Shares of WPP opened at $46.79 on Thursday. WPP plc has a twelve month low of $41.13 and a twelve month high of $60.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.98.

WPP Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.244 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th.

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.