Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 1,696 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,696 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,058,000. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.7% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 183.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 316,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,907,000 after purchasing an additional 204,722 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth approximately $396,000. Finally, Gibbs Wealth Management grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 98.0% in the 1st quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $295.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $240.61 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $287.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 22.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.80.

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.