Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 21.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 72,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,461 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $22,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on WTW shares. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $337.16 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $328.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $313.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

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.