WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) Short Interest Down 35.7% in August

WPP plc (NYSE:WPP) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 256,600 shares, a decrease of 35.7% from the July 31st total of 398,800 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 174,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Institutional Trading of WPP

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of WPP by 46.5% during the 1st quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 3,350,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $158,791,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062,708 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in WPP by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 652,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,232,000 after buying an additional 42,690 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in WPP by 24.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 321,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,759,000 after acquiring an additional 63,363 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in WPP by 15.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 199,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,115,000 after acquiring an additional 27,384 shares during the period. 4.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WPP shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of WPP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upgraded shares of WPP to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

WPP Price Performance

NYSE:WPP opened at $47.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. WPP has a 1 year low of $41.13 and a 1 year high of $54.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.99.

WPP Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th will be issued a $0.954 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. This is an increase from WPP’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.24. This represents a yield of 5.7%.

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.