PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Trims Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 19.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,887 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 817,301 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Two equities 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 data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $302.64 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $270.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.76.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.