Perpetual Ltd Has $31.49 Million Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd reduced its holdings in Willis Towers Watson by 2.4%, bringing its total shares to 102,747, while several other hedge funds increased their positions in the company during the same quarter.
• Willis Towers Watson recently authorized a $1.50 billion stock buyback plan, indicating that the board believes the company's shares are undervalued.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $2.86, surpassing estimates, but experienced a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.2% for the quarter.

Perpetual Ltd cut its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,747 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,532 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.10% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $31,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth $43,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of WTW stock traded up $5.01 on Friday, reaching $336.71. 1,309,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 457,743. The company has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.62, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $324.16 and a 200-day moving average of $317.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $286.00 and a one year high of $344.14.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $362.92.

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.