Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,897 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $13,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $324.68 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $327.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -324.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.