Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,263,205 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,829 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $415,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $400.00 to $374.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.7%

WTW opened at $262.63 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $269.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.53. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.