Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Sold by Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 94.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,474 shares during the quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 817,301 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 80.2% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,038,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,231,000 after purchasing an additional 462,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $350.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $259.65 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $268.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $296.51. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The company has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.39%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.