Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,472 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,027,000 after acquiring an additional 19,623 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,718,000 after acquiring an additional 48,384 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,698,000 after acquiring an additional 10,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,781,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,619,000 after acquiring an additional 128,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $340.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $321.37 and a 200-day moving average of $307.81. The company has a market capitalization of $33.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -340.36, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $342.17. 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 released 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 negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase 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 Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently 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.