Machina Capital S.A.S. Takes Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Callan Family Office LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 160.9% during the 4th quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 3,352 shares of the company's stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,559,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,483 shares of the company's stock worth $9,235,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the company's stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,488 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $5.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $321.10. The stock had a trading volume of 782,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,928. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $323.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.88. The company has a market capitalization of $32.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -321.10, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. 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 (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $7.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $342.08.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

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.