Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 6,413 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,635,852 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,413 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.62% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $823,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth approximately $993,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.15.

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded down $8.84 during trading on Monday, reaching $299.96. 367,914 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 549,680. The stock has a market cap of $29.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -299.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $329.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.03. 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 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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently -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.