KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Decreases Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,435 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $10,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $337.39 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $334.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.91. 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 fifty-two week low of $287.05 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 231.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

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.