Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 510,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,368 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for about 3.1% of Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.51% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $159,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $308.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $329.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $314.87. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of -308.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -368.00%.

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.