Cidel Asset Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 42.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 42,366 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $15,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTW. Barclays lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $381.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $325.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $319.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 22.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.82 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 23.62%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.