Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Stake Decreased by Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC

Key Points

• Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC cut its Willis Towers Watson stake by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 78,094 shares and leaving it with 30,909 shares valued at about $10.16 million.
• WTW beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $3.72 versus the $3.65 estimate, while revenue rose 8.5% year over year to $2.41 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, payable July 15, and insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares in May, signaling continued insider confidence.

Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 71.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,909 shares of the company's stock after selling 78,094 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $10,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the company's stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 3.0%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $257.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $240.61 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $274.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $301.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $351.73.

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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