Man Group plc Decreases Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Man Group plc trimmed its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 53.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,651 shares of the company's stock after selling 85,172 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $23,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $310.01 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $319.41 and a 200-day moving average of $318.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -310.01, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $248.09 and a 12 month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.

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