Bank of Nova Scotia Has $28.58 Million Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 75.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,237 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,261 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.09% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $28,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $1.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $327.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,771. 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 $32.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -327.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $327.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.11. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 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 (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.