Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Has $74.30 Million Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 226,119 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,432 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public comprises 2.4% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned about 0.24% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $74,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.73.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $250.98 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $240.61 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $273.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $300.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.71 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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