Cidel Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,074 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Cidel Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 135,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,074 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 2.5% of Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $41,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW stock opened at $330.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $335.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $318.67. The firm has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 226.13, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $287.05 and a 1 year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WTW. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.42.

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.