California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 30,952 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 218,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,952 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $63,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293,334 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $727,149,000 after acquiring an additional 57,162 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,536 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $283.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $374.00 to $382.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.80.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW opened at $293.45 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $264.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $288.40. The company has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $240.61 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 22.39%.

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.