Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 286,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $89,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WTW stock opened at $324.61 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -324.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. 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 1.13%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

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.