Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $772,027,000 after buying an additional 19,623 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,718,000 after buying an additional 48,384 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,698,000 after acquiring an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,781,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,619,000 after acquiring an additional 128,558 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

NASDAQ WTW opened at $335.29 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $320.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $306.53. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $339.12. The company has a market capitalization of $33.77 billion, a PE ratio of -335.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.08.

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.