Xponance Inc. Cuts Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 508 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $276,426,000. Baupost Group LLC MA raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.4% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,555,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,072,000 after purchasing an additional 653,300 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 9.0% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,410,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,477,000 after purchasing an additional 445,775 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter valued at $87,241,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 201.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 605,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,529,000 after purchasing an additional 404,530 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ WTW opened at $264.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $195.29 and a one year high of $278.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 1.33%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 35.13%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.54.

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.