Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 828 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 51.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 796 shares of the company’s stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,644,000 after buying an additional 1,266,484 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,055,000 after acquiring an additional 285,497 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,616,000 after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 604,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,412,000 after purchasing an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value 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 trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.1 %

WTW stock opened at $321.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -321.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $327.04 and its 200 day moving average is $316.57.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 -368.00%.

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.