NFJ Investment Group LLC Decreases Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,691 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,097 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $14,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $387.00 price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $327.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $327.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.19. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of -327.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. 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 $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. 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 is currently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.