Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Raises Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,659 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 63.4% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 17,630 shares of the company's stock worth $5,193,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $1,931,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 7.0 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $23.20 on Friday, hitting $309.22. The company had a trading volume of 918,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,295. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.57 and a 200-day moving average of $314.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -309.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

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Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released 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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public 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 transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. 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.

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.