Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 38,142 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,254 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,142 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.11% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $33,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Barclays boosted their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $348.25.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $303.16. The company had a trading volume of 804,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $30.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -303.16, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $248.09 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $326.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $317.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

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.