California Public Employees Retirement System Has $114.58 Million Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 15.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 373,827 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,924 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $114,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $458,662,000. Dodge & Cox bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $391,837,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter valued at approximately $272,790,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth $195,043,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,320.9% during the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 324,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,403,000 after purchasing an additional 301,493 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.67.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.2%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $320.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The company’s 50-day moving average is $327.35 and its 200-day moving average is $320.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.63. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $292.97 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 17.52%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.