Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 567 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTW. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 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 dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $337.16 on Friday. 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 current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $328.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $313.49. The firm has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.16, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend 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 currently -368.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.