Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 67,384 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 55.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,384 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $18,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 3.1%

WTW opened at $340.45 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $286.00 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $33.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 233.19, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTW. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.92.

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.