Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Cuts Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd cut its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,318 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the 3rd 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.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $339.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $320.85 and a 200 day moving average of $306.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -339.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $339.89.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were 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 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 through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.08.

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.