Ethic Inc. Sells 1,417 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Ethic Inc. reduced its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.7%

WTW stock opened at $331.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.12. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $287.58 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.33 billion, a PE ratio of 226.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.