Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 35.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 224,088 shares of the company's stock after selling 121,600 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.22% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $70,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock worth $1,153,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,484 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,483,000 after buying an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,055,000 after buying an additional 285,497 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,836,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $575,343,000 after buying an additional 55,542 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $484,210,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTW. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $4.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $302.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,557,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,279. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $248.09 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $30.13 billion, a PE ratio of -302.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.52.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently -736.00%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.