Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,483,822 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,027,793 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 6.44% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $2,030,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 63.4% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $207,000. Atom Investors LP boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company's stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $413,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.5 %

WTW stock traded down $5.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $332.41. 783,270 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,622. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $329.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $314.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.14 billion, a PE ratio of -332.41, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. 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 Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $344.14.

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Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 company posted $7.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.15.

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.