Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 70 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $335.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $320.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $306.53. The stock has a market cap of $33.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -335.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $339.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.