Swiss National Bank Cuts Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,810 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $98,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTW. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 74,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,453,000 after acquiring an additional 3,605 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 355.3% during the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,273,000 after purchasing an additional 7,393 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.5% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 179,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,102,000 after purchasing an additional 12,575 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 53,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,340,000 after purchasing an additional 17,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,398,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $392.00 to $358.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.50.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $289.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $313.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $323.59. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $275.60 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The firm has a market cap of $27.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 22.47%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.