Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp decreased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 0.5%, now holding approximately 1.22% of the company, valued at around $408.9 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Willis Towers Watson, with T. Rowe Price boosting its stake by 77.5% and GAMMA Investing growing its position by an astonishing 40,489.4%.
• Willis Towers Watson reported a quarterly EPS of $2.86, surpassing estimates, with revenues slightly declining by 0.2% year-over-year, totaling $2.26 billion.

Northern Trust Corp cut its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,209,966 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,521 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.22% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $408,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at about $406,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $339.25. The company had a trading volume of 348,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 684,918. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $280.86 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $312.96 and its 200-day moving average is $317.04. The company has a market capitalization of $33.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 232.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.67.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on 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. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $362.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.