Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $18.47 Million Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,956 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,798 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $18,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 25.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,273 shares of the company's stock worth $7,103,000 after purchasing an additional 4,988 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,273 shares of the company's stock worth $37,780,000 after acquiring an additional 8,228 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,840 shares of the company's stock worth $6,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 942 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $626,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ WTW traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.93. The company had a trading volume of 534,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,437. The company has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a PE ratio of -311.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $319.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.01. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $248.09 and a twelve month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

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.