M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,324 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,072 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after purchasing an additional 7,561,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,706,000 after buying an additional 620,926 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,255,000 after acquiring an additional 498,915 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $47,883,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $330.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $322.64 and a 200-day moving average of $309.06. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -330.89, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.