Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 41.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,643 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,238,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,041,000 after buying an additional 146,104 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,579,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,994,000 after acquiring an additional 62,570 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,591,115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,908,000 after acquiring an additional 19,384 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,279,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,642,000 after purchasing an additional 103,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $458,662,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $362.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.23.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $333.58 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.56. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $292.97 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.52%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.