Sei Investments Co. Increases Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 274,230 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 44,429 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.27% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $85,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter worth about $262,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 14,240 shares of the company's stock worth $4,194,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 7,757 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,286,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $372,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,407 shares of the company's stock worth $3,360,000 after purchasing an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $338.59. 317,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,690. The company has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -338.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $327.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed 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. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WTW shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.15.

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.