Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,699 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,506 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public comprises about 3.9% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. owned 0.07% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $24,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $1,153,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock worth $873,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 285,497 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,836,748 shares of the company's stock worth $575,343,000 after acquiring an additional 55,542 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $484,210,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on 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 raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $356.30.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Willis Towers Watson Public
Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.6%
NASDAQ:WTW opened at $303.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $255.19 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The stock's 50-day moving average is $308.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $317.46. The stock has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a PE ratio of -607.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70.
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). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a positive return on equity of 20.53%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -736.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.
About Willis Towers Watson Public
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report).
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