Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 8,228 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,273 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,228 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.13% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $37,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 820 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in 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. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,446,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $326.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW stock traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.03. The company had a trading volume of 191,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,283. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $237.08 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $308.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.57. The firm has a market cap of $31.83 billion, a PE ratio of -43.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -48.35%.

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.