Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 31.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,800 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WTW stock opened at $337.16 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of -337.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $328.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $313.49. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

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.