Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 4,798 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,798 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $18,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $304.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $320.40 and a 200-day moving average of $318.86. The firm has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -304.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $248.09 and a 1-year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change 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 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

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.