Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,069,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,356 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned approximately 1.06% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $335,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% in the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $993,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTW opened at $337.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $328.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.49. 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 Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a PE ratio of -337.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade 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. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

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.