Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 41.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,421 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,470 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293,334 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,149,000 after purchasing an additional 57,162 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth approximately $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,108,000 after purchasing an additional 268,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $261.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $262.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $292.27. The firm has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $240.61 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

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.