Prana Capital Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Prana Capital Management LP trimmed its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 65.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296,873 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for 2.4% of Prana Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Prana Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.16% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $49,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,484 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $873,483,000 after buying an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,055,000 after buying an additional 285,497 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,836,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,343,000 after buying an additional 55,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $484,210,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of WTW opened at $303.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $319.85 and its 200 day moving average is $318.75. The company has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of -303.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $248.09 and a 12-month high of $344.14. 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 (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -736.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other 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 value of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.55.

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.