Qtron Investments LLC Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Qtron Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,590 shares of the company’s stock after selling 862 shares during the period. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $321.74 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -321.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $326.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $387.00 price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.38.

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.