Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,027,793 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,483,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,027,793 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.06% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $2,030,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,616,000 after acquiring an additional 973,843 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,883,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,515.0% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 146,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,890,000 after purchasing an additional 137,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $337.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.00, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $328.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.33. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.