Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 25.4%, selling 6,800 shares to hold 20,000 shares valued at $6,759,000.
• Citigroup Inc. increased its stake by 42.9%, owning 104,086 shares valued at $35,176,000 after purchasing an additional 31,251 shares.
• The company's average rating stands at "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $367.11 following recent research reports downgrading price objectives.

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 25.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $6,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,461,000 after buying an additional 1,004,947 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,286.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 862,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,284,000 after buying an additional 849,358 shares during the last quarter. Atalan Capital Partners LP raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Atalan Capital Partners LP now owns 475,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,789,000 after buying an additional 225,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,216,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $381,052,000 after buying an additional 152,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $4.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $330.16. 748,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 657,727. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 226.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $279.08 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $316.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm'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 value of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $364.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.