72,183 Shares in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Purchased by Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought 72,183 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter, a position worth about $23.7 million and equal to roughly 0.08% of the company.
• WTW reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.72 per share, with revenue of $2.41 billion matching estimates and rising 8.5% year over year.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share from $0.92, while analysts currently maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $351.73.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 72,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,719,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned approximately 0.08% of Willis Towers Watson Public as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $3,777,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 713 shares of the company's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,623 shares of the company's stock worth $3,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,813 shares of the company's stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WTW. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $409.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $351.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW stock opened at $247.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $284.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $240.61 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.39 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.5 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

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