Norges Bank Buys Shares of 1,545,810 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,545,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $484,210,000. Norges Bank owned 1.53% of Willis Towers Watson Public as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company's stock worth $5,625,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company's stock worth $55,156,000 after acquiring an additional 37,340 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 186,332 shares of the company's stock worth $54,880,000 after purchasing an additional 47,148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $993,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WTW. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.1 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $337.30. The stock had a trading volume of 174,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 569,249. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $245.04 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $328.97 and a 200 day moving average of $314.33. The firm has a market cap of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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%. Willis Towers Watson Public'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 EPS. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost 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 1.09%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.