Headlands Technologies LLC Increases Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 524.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,360 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,742 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 buying 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 worth about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. 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 research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.15.

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Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW traded down $23.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $308.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,655,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,032. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $329.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.62. The company has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -308.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The company 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 business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio 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.