Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Position Increased by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,330 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,816 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $88,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company's stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on WTW shares. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $6.66 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $319.86. 187,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,641. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $245.04 and a 12 month high of $344.14. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $31.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -320.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average price is $323.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.88.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.