Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $1.78 Million Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,660 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,472 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $330.89. 429,584 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 558,139. The business's 50 day moving average price is $322.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of -330.89, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. Equities research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.