Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Sells 409 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP reduced its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 409 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth about $502,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.7% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 259,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,226,000 after purchasing an additional 18,657 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,736.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,619,000 after buying an additional 53,391 shares during the period. Finally, Seed Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $264.48. The company had a trading volume of 480,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,035. The company has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $271.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $250.67. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $195.29 and a 52-week high of $278.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Citigroup raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $236.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.