Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Stake Boosted by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,266,484 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned 3.66% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $1,153,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings 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 purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTW. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $387.00 price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW stock traded up $5.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $321.74. 605,388 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 560,938. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -321.74, a P/E/G 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 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $326.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.