Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,256,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company's stock worth $55,156,000 after acquiring an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $993,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 18.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,511 shares of the company's stock worth $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,082,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance
Shares of WTW stock traded up $12.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $313.08. The company had a trading volume of 240,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 551,094. The stock's 50-day moving average is $328.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -313.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14.
Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.
Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public
In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently weighed in on WTW. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.15.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WTW
Willis Towers Watson Public Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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