Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 101,933 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 831,925 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 101,933 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.83% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $260,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW stock traded down $18.62 during trading on Thursday, hitting $307.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 572,747. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $327.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.19. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $30.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -307.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.

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.