Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 519 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,274 shares of the company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at $502,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.7% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 259,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,226,000 after buying an additional 18,657 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,736.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,619,000 after buying an additional 53,391 shares during the period. Seed Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,946,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,078,484,000 after acquiring an additional 98,719 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WTW opened at $264.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $271.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.30. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $195.29 and a 12 month high of $278.86. The company has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.39. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.88 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 35.13%.

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.