Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys New Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 132,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,559,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.13% of Willis Towers Watson Public as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,625,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 104,414 shares of the company's stock worth $30,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,001 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 71.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company's stock worth $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company's stock worth $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company's stock worth $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded up $5.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $324.61. The stock had a trading volume of 627,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,666. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month 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 company has a market cap of $32.36 billion, a PE ratio of -324.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $323.94 and its 200-day moving average is $310.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is -368.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on WTW. Barclays boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.