Heartland Advisors Inc. Sells 1,758 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,842 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,758 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 21.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 19,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 505,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,907,000 after purchasing an additional 30,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth about $1,538,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $293.45 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $240.61 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The stock has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $264.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.40.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 22.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.