CenterBook Partners LP Trims Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

CenterBook Partners LP decreased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,646 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,123 shares during the quarter. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,187 shares of the company's stock worth $3,504,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $308.28. The stock had a trading volume of 705,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,279. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $306.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -616.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $262.57 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.53% and a negative net margin of 0.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -736.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. Barclays dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.