Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Polen Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polen Capital Management sharply cut its Willis Towers Watson position in the fourth quarter, selling 192,359 shares and reducing its stake by 87.5% to 27,425 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on WTW, with analysts assigning a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $350, even as several firms trimmed their targets.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.72 per share and 8.5% revenue growth, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share payable on July 15.

Polen Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 87.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,425 shares of the company's stock after selling 192,359 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $9,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the company's stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the company's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $283.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WTW opened at $260.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $269.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.77.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company 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.

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