Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 37,128 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,935,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,229,298,000 after buying an additional 7,561,114 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,416,455 shares of the company's stock worth $711,718,000 after purchasing an additional 48,384 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,167 shares of the company's stock worth $589,698,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.8% during the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,781,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,619,000 after purchasing an additional 128,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company's stock worth $453,123,000 after purchasing an additional 261,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.5 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $308.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 481,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 506,911. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $234.01 and a 52-week high of $334.99. The company has a market cap of $31.06 billion, a PE ratio of -42.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm's 50 day moving average is $305.72 and its 200 day moving average is $285.05.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is presently -48.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.80.

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.