Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 498 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 28,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $8,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth $262,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 7,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,286,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $334.51 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $325.71 and its 200 day moving average is $311.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -334.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.