Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for about 1.6% of Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 8,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after buying an additional 2,878 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,391,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTW. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $317.00 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $292.97 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $334.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 217.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

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.