Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lowered its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 36.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $300,782,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $107,010,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 520.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 417,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,765,000 after purchasing an additional 350,135 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,123,000 after purchasing an additional 261,562 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,904,000 after purchasing an additional 185,126 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $292.50 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $281.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $268.40. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $203.36 and a 52-week high of $296.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $304.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.73.

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.