M&G PLC Sells 1,004 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

M&G PLC decreased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $12,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $965,334,000 after acquiring an additional 67,898 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,057,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,428,000 after buying an additional 69,205 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 953,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,250,000 after buying an additional 17,154 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,519,000 after buying an additional 30,704 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $320.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of 219.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $292.97 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $332.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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 of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.77.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.