Julie Jarecke Gebauer Sells 3,384 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock traded down $6.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $333.94. The company had a trading volume of 470,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,646. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -333.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50-day moving average is $321.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.19. 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 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $440,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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.