River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 149,147 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

River Road Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 30.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 340,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149,147 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up 1.2% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $111,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTW. Bank of America decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $255.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.61. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.