Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.

Key Points

• Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. reduced its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 76.4%, owning 680 shares worth $230,000 after selling 2,200 shares during the first quarter.
• Willis Towers Watson reported earning $2.86 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.65, while revenue was $2.26 billion, slightly surpassing the forecast of $2.23 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 1.2%, with a payout ratio of 252.05%.

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. decreased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 76.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company's stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth about $406,000. Finally, Sunriver Management LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 175,627 shares of the company's stock worth $55,013,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.11.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $325.11. 305,928 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 652,550. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $271.01 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 222.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $306.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.36.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 252.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.