ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 21,852 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 50.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,594 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,852 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $6,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,210,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,644,000 after buying an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,616,000 after acquiring an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,286.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 862,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,284,000 after acquiring an additional 849,358 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company 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 issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $356.30.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $309.02. 372,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,610. The business's 50 day moving average is $317.65 and its 200 day moving average is $319.36. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $248.09 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -309.02, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -736.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.