Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,150 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,072 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 884 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $289.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $278.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.92. The stock has a market cap of $29.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $201.41 and a 52 week high of $296.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.27. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.97% and a net margin of 11.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.51 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $304.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $318.00 to $321.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.