Perpetual Ltd Sells 6,881 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Perpetual Ltd lowered its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,279 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,881 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.11% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $35,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the company's stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $356.30.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WTW traded up $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $304.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,329,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 598,621. The company has a market cap of $30.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -608.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $307.41 and a 200 day moving average of $317.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $255.19 and a 1 year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a positive return on equity of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

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.