Prudential PLC Decreases Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Prudential PLC lowered its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 83.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,985 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,151,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,038,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,231,000 after purchasing an additional 462,249 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 745,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,365,000 after purchasing an additional 269,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 546.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 255,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,324,000 after purchasing an additional 216,124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reduced 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 note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $409.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.73.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 2.1%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $258.12 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $240.61 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.91.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.39%.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.