Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Sells 234,733 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 39.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 367,908 shares of the company's stock after selling 234,733 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up 1.5% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.36% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $89,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth approximately $502,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.7% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 259,505 shares of the company's stock worth $54,226,000 after purchasing an additional 18,657 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,736.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,465 shares of the company's stock worth $13,619,000 after purchasing an additional 53,391 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,946,805 shares of the company's stock worth $2,078,484,000 after purchasing an additional 98,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seed Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WTW. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.54.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW traded up $4.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $270.94. 424,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,483. The company's 50-day moving average is $270.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.06. The company has a market cap of $27.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $195.29 and a 12-month high of $278.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.91 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.