Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in Willis Towers Watson by 0.4%, now owning 185,413 shares valued at approximately $62.66 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased their positions, with T. Rowe Price Investment Management acquiring an additional 67,898 shares, raising their ownership by 2.4% in the first quarter.
• The recent earnings report revealed a quarterly revenue of $2.26 billion and earnings per share of $2.86, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,413 shares of the company's stock after selling 752 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.19% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $62,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,768,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:WTW traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $326.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 370,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,124. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $316.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $283.29 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $31.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 223.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is 252.05%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.92.

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.