CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Buys 1,543 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,923 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,543 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.12% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $38,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WTW. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 4.3 %

WTW stock traded down $13.95 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $311.73. 683,859 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,760. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -311.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $245.04 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $327.13 and a 200-day moving average of $317.19. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.