Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management trimmed its Willis Towers Watson stake by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 63,829 shares and leaving it with 1,263,205 shares valued at about $415.1 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on WTW, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $350, even as several firms recently lowered their targets.
• The company beat earnings expectations for the latest quarter, reporting $3.72 EPS versus $3.65 expected, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share.

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,263,205 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,829 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 1.32% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $415,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,372,970 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,928,792,000 after buying an additional 103,784 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after buying an additional 2,353,768 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $511,151,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,096,882 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,918,000 after buying an additional 58,607 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 988,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $324,933,000 after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $400.00 to $374.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $350.00.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $262.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $269.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.53. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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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