National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 137,422 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 1,515.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,493 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 137,422 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.15% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $45,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company's stock valued at $772,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,623 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,616,000 after acquiring an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 604,686 shares of the company's stock worth $189,412,000 after acquiring an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company's stock worth $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $9.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $299.07. 367,914 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,639. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $329.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $315.03. The company has a market cap of $29.82 billion, a PE ratio of -299.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.