Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 58.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,441 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 505,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,907,000 after buying an additional 30,887 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth about $1,538,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% in the first quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 10,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,942,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WTW. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $294.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $264.25 and its 200-day moving average is $288.68. 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 capitalization of $27.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend 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 22.39%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.