Olstein Capital Management L.P. Sells 3,000 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 14.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $484,210,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock worth $1,153,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% in 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock worth $340,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,947 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company's stock worth $309,616,000 after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $295.96. 611,202 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 590,243. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $253.03 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $29.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -295.96, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $311.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.87.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -736.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 now directly owns 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WTW. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $356.30.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.