Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership trimmed its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,496,104 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,689 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 1.6% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 3.47% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $1,095,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTW. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% during the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company's stock worth $5,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company's stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company's stock worth $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 186,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,880,000 after purchasing an additional 47,148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $993,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WTW. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $336.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 332,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 536,784. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $33.58 billion, a PE ratio of -336.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $313.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase 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%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

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.