KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 34,935 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 34,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,973,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,240 shares of the company's stock worth $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 7,757 shares of the company's stock worth $2,286,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,360,000 after buying an additional 931 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,265,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 90,110 shares of the company's stock worth $26,540,000 after acquiring an additional 6,051 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $338.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 115,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,892. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -338.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. 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 (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other 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 transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.15.

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.