Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Buys 19,600 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 179.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,550 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,600 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up about 1.4% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the third 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. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company's stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW traded down $3.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $337.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 537,546. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.16, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $313.49. 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 announced 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.