EP Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Sunriver Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 175,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 239.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 44,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,043,000 after acquiring an additional 31,643 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $263,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $245,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $309.05 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $321.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $318.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $248.09 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of -309.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). 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 $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business 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 yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -736.00%.

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.