Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong sharply reduced its Willis Towers Watson Public stake by 94.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,474 shares and leaving it with 1,600 shares valued at about $526,000.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 93.09% of WTW stock held by hedge funds and other institutions; several other investors increased positions during the period.
• WTW reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $3.72 per share on revenue of $2.41 billion, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share.

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd cut its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 94.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,474 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 690,210 shares of the company's stock valued at $226,803,000 after acquiring an additional 10,697 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 945.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 57,641 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 52,125 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,225 shares of the company's stock worth $6,646,000 after buying an additional 6,340 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 179,771 shares of the company's stock worth $62,102,000 after buying an additional 12,575 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 23,959 shares of the company's stock worth $8,277,000 after buying an additional 4,859 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $259.65 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $296.51. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.