Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,243 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.10% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $31,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 136.5% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $290.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 397,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,067. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $290.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $29.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $207.25 and a 12-month high of $303.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.49 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $321.00 to $334.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $309.47.

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.