Franklin Resources Inc. Has $7.26 Million Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,083 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,616,000 after buying an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 37,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,847,000 after purchasing an additional 8,336 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 451,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,388,000 after purchasing an additional 30,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 67.2% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 56,851 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,758,000 after purchasing an additional 22,859 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 4.2 %

WTW stock opened at $314.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.29. The company has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -314.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue 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, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

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.