SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 55.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,997 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth $195,043,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,320.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 324,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,403,000 after acquiring an additional 301,493 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 185.1% in the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 366,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,872,000 after purchasing an additional 237,953 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth $60,390,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,238,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,041,000 after purchasing an additional 146,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $315.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.17 billion, a PE ratio of 215.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $292.97 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $330.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $320.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 17.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.62.

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.