California Public Employees Retirement System Has $63.61 Million Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System cut its WTW stake by 12.4% in Q1, selling 30,952 shares and ending with 218,825 shares valued at about $63.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive overall: WTW has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with analysts’ average price target at $351.80 despite a mix of recent upgrades and target cuts.
• The company reported solid recent results, including $3.72 EPS for the quarter versus expectations of $3.65, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share for a 1.3% annualized yield.

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 218,825 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,952 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.23% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $63,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $293.45 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $264.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $288.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $240.61 and a one year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

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