Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 89.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 271,080 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $9,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 690,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,803,000 after buying an additional 10,697 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,646,000 after acquiring an additional 6,340 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 945.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 57,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 52,125 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $511,151,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 158,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WTW. Barclays cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ WTW opened at $288.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.27. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The stock has a market cap of $27.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.