Cibc World Markets Corp Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,916 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,812 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. One 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.15.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $4.51 on Monday, hitting $337.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 597,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,426. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $326.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $312.03. 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 $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business'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 value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.