D.A. Davidson & CO. Buys 7,170 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• D.A. Davidson raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 95.6% in Q4, buying an additional 7,170 shares to hold 14,672 shares valued at about $4.82 million.
• Willis Towers Watson beat EPS estimates ($8.12 vs. $7.93) while revenue was down 3.3% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annualized $3.84, ~1.3% yield).
• Institutional investors own 93.09% of the stock, with large funds (e.g., Dodge & Cox) significantly increasing positions, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $366.29.

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 95.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,672 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,170 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,768 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 80.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,038,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,231,000 after acquiring an additional 462,249 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 745,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,365,000 after acquiring an additional 269,794 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 546.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 255,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,324,000 after acquiring an additional 216,124 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,645.5% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 213,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,612,000 after purchasing an additional 209,930 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ WTW opened at $290.11 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $292.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.97. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $273.59 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently 23.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $398.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $358.00 to $353.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $366.29.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.