Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 59 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 549 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,495,000. Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 138.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 3,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $408,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $259.27 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $195.29 and a twelve month high of $278.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $271.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.54.

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.