ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Invests $3.18 Million in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has invested approximately $3.18 million in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW), acquiring 9,417 shares of the company's stock.
• Willis Towers Watson reported earnings of $2.86 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.65.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92, yielding 1.1%, with a significantly high payout ratio of 252.05%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,182,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company's stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth $406,000. Finally, Sunriver Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 175,627 shares of the company's stock worth $55,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.11.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:WTW traded up $2.65 on Friday, hitting $327.85. 829,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,886. The stock has a market cap of $31.98 billion, a PE ratio of 224.56, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $307.30 and a 200-day moving average of $316.46. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $273.70 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.