Employees Retirement System of Texas Trims Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,732 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 257,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,810,000 after acquiring an additional 26,420 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $321.23 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $330.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market cap of $30.76 billion, a PE ratio of 220.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $292.97 and a 1 year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 17.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $373.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.