First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 672,829 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 13.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,456,930 shares of the company's stock after selling 672,829 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for about 3.1% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned about 4.43% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $1,396,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 77,488 shares of the company's stock worth $24,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 96.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,244 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,896,000 after buying an additional 4,548 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,504,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $342.08.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW traded up $5.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $324.61. The stock had a trading volume of 627,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,666. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $323.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $310.45. The firm has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -324.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.

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.