Employees Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its Willis Towers Watson stake by 44% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 9,505 shares valued at about $3.1 million.
• Willis Towers Watson reported Q1 earnings of $3.72 per share, topping estimates by $0.07, while revenue came in at $2.41 billion, up 8.5% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, equal to a $3.84 annualized payout and a 1.5% yield.

Employees Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 44.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,505 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,463 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $31,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ WTW opened at $254.04 on Thursday. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $276.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.63. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $240.61 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The company has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.73.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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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