Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Position Increased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 14.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,228,497 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 285,497 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 2.21% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $698,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its stake in 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring 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 about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW traded up $5.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $321.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 605,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 560,949. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. 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 50-day simple moving average of $326.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $315.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -321.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

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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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.38.

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.