Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 14,279 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,279 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $15,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Glassman Wealth Services purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $318.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $299.36.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WTW stock opened at $283.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $195.29 and a 1 year high of $283.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $259.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.27. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 11.24%. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

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.