Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Position Decreased by Cortland Associates Inc. MO

Cortland Associates Inc. MO lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,359 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,130 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 6.8% of Cortland Associates Inc. MO's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Cortland Associates Inc. MO owned about 0.19% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $59,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19,253.3% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 8,709 shares of the company's stock worth $2,728,000 after acquiring an additional 8,664 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 26,800 shares of the company's stock worth $8,395,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 83.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,811 shares of the company's stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 6,286 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 17,438 shares of the company's stock worth $5,462,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded up $5.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $329.96. 224,290 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,123. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $242.54 and a 52-week high of $334.99. The stock has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $316.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $299.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -48.35%.

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.