Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 104 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,875 shares of the company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $263,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.6%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $303.69 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $255.19 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -607.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $308.81 and a 200-day moving average of $317.46.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.53% and a negative net margin of 0.54%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.30.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.