River Global Investors LLP Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

River Global Investors LLP cut its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 26.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,912 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,016 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 0.8% of River Global Investors LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.1 %

WTW opened at $330.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of -330.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $322.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.