QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

QRG Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 59.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,795 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,298,000 after purchasing an additional 7,561,114 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,623 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,718,000 after buying an additional 48,384 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,698,000 after buying an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.8% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,781,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,619,000 after buying an additional 128,558 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.08.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $339.65 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $320.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of -339.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $245.04 and a 12 month high of $339.89.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

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.