APG Asset Management N.V. Increases Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 245.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,100 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.08% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $23,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $327.03. 193,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 559,809. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -327.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $327.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.38.

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.