Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 598,378 shares of the company's stock after selling 567,400 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.59% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $187,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,706,000 after purchasing an additional 620,926 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,255,000 after purchasing an additional 498,915 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $47,883,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,964,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.2 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $340.16. The stock had a trading volume of 280,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,818. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a PE ratio of -340.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $342.17. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $320.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.39. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.44 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.08.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.