New South Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

New South Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,545 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for about 1.4% of New South Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. New South Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $34,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,991,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,002,000 after acquiring an additional 98,922 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,123,000 after buying an additional 261,562 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.2% in the second quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,652,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $433,225,000 after buying an additional 96,981 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,122,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,246,000 after acquiring an additional 39,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,904,000 after acquiring an additional 185,126 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.90 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.08. 8,081 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 473,726. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $234.01 and a 12-month high of $320.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $294.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.46.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -48.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $352.00 to $359.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $312.27.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.