Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $4.98 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 784.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,734 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,069 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $595,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $305.09. 910,680 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 608,828. The company has a market capitalization of $30.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -610.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $255.19 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $306.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.01.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.53% and a negative net margin of 0.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS 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 paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is -736.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note 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 price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $355.20.

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.