Cortland Associates Inc. MO Sells 5,460 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Cortland Associates Inc. MO cut its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 168,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,460 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for approximately 7.1% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Cortland Associates Inc. MO’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $48,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 183.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 316,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,907,000 after purchasing an additional 204,722 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,052,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $30,058,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 86.7% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 190,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,470,000 after buying an additional 88,659 shares during the period. Finally, Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,096,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Barclays increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $402.00 to $401.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $381.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $345.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $369.94.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $325.51 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $351.51. The stock has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $314.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.34.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 15.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.43%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and improve performance. Its clients include corporations, governments, institutions and individuals across a range of industries and markets.

The company’s services include insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, employee benefits consulting, retirement and investment advisory, and human capital and organizational consulting.