Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Holdings in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 652,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,690 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned 0.30% of WPP worth $30,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of WPP by 767.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in WPP in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WPP during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WPP by 62.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WPP in the second quarter worth approximately $80,000. 4.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WPP shares. StockNews.com upgraded WPP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 8th. Citigroup upgraded WPP to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th.

WPP Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WPP opened at $52.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $47.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.40. WPP plc has a fifty-two week low of $41.13 and a fifty-two week high of $54.21. The company has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 7.35 and a beta of 1.29.

WPP Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.954 per share. This is an increase from WPP’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. This represents a yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. WPP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.93%.

WPP Company 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.