T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 77.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.77% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $873,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other 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 transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW stock opened at $324.68 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $327.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.13. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $245.04 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -324.68, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.13%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -368.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.38.

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.

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