Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 254,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,361 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.25% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $79,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,027,000 after buying an additional 19,623 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,616,000 after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 604,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,412,000 after purchasing an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after purchasing an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $308.80 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $329.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.87. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -308.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.