Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,663 shares of the company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% during the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,625,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 71.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 104,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,753,000 after buying an additional 23,001 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,360,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,156,000 after buying an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ WTW opened at $320.40 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $317.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.19. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $334.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $32.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -320.40, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -352.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong 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 an average price target of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.