Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 973,843 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6,676.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 988,430 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 973,843 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.99% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $309,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ WTW traded down $23.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $308.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,656,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 550,263. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -308.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $329.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.03.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -368.00%.

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.