Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Reduces Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 630 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $9,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at $70,000. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $90,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $303.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped 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 note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.2%

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

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given 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 yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.52%.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.