Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 375,549 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 59.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,921 shares of the company's stock after selling 375,549 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $80,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock worth $873,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company's stock worth $698,055,000 after buying an additional 285,497 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,836,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,343,000 after purchasing an additional 55,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $484,210,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $307.46. The company had a trading volume of 487,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,320. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -307.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $248.09 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $321.46 and its 200-day moving average is $318.84.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). 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 $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -736.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.