Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Stake Trimmed by Cidel Asset Management Inc.

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,366 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $15,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,149,000 after acquiring an additional 57,162 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,536 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.50.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $340.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $289.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.49. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $240.61 and a 52 week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.62%.

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.