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

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,069 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,800 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,706,000 after buying an additional 620,926 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,255,000 after acquiring an additional 498,915 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $47,883,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $42,964,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $337.16 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $328.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost 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 payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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