Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 15,353 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 320,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,353 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.32% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $100,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 451,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 30,303 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 56,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,758,000 after purchasing an additional 22,859 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $820,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,008,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on WTW. 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTW 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 price-to-earnings ratio of -337.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $313.49.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued 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 positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

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.