Federated Hermes Inc. Raises Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 7,321.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,786 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 101,401 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.10% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $32,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company's stock worth $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $993,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, 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 the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW traded up $5.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $321.74. 605,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 560,949. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.87. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $245.04 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -321.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. 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 issued its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share 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 represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.