First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,250,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,312 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for approximately 2.5% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,396,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 2.6%

WTW stock opened at $249.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $246.60 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $287.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $308.49.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WTW. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.