Prudential PLC Buys 1,345 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 21,016 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• Willis Towers Watson reported $2.86 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, despite a 0.2% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92, with an annual yield of 1.1%, but has a notably high dividend payout ratio of 252.05%.

Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,016 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at $32,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW traded down $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $329.07. 170,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 655,795. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $279.08 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $309.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.60. The stock has a market cap of $32.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 225.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67.

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

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.