Renaissance Technologies LLC Purchases New Position in WPP plc (NYSE:WPP)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WPP in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Beacon Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 7,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WPP in the 4th quarter valued at about $338,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in WPP by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,155,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,974,000 after buying an additional 332,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in WPP by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.34% of the company’s stock.

WPP Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WPP stock opened at $50.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $48.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.70. WPP plc has a twelve month low of $41.13 and a twelve month high of $54.21.

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 paid a $0.954 dividend. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is currently 52.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.