Cortland Associates Inc. MO Lowers Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Cortland Associates Inc. MO trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,179 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,027 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 7.1% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Cortland Associates Inc. MO owned approximately 0.19% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $54,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,946,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,078,484,000 after purchasing an additional 98,719 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,568,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,343,062,000 after purchasing an additional 158,234 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,021,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,434,000 after purchasing an additional 25,794 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.4% in the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,555,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,072,000 after purchasing an additional 653,300 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4,811.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,472,707 shares of the company's stock worth $355,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442,722 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,170 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of WTW traded down $5.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $250.95. The stock had a trading volume of 770,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,884. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $195.29 and a 52 week high of $278.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $269.96 and a 200 day moving average of $251.39. The company has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is 35.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $293.43.

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.

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