Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Reduces Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 510,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,368 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up 3.1% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $159,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 7.1 %

WTW stock opened at $308.80 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $329.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -308.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 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 positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.44 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.