Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $340.18 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 3.2% to 984,832 shares, a position worth about $340.18 million and roughly 1.03% of the company, while institutional investors own 93.09% of the stock.
• Wall Street's consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $371.50 (1 Strong Buy, 10 Buy, 4 Hold, 1 Sell); notable analyst moves include Truist raising its target to $400 and Cantor Fitzgerald cutting theirs to $345.
• Willis Towers Watson beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates ($8.12 vs. $7.93 EPS; $2.94B vs. $2.87B revenue) despite revenue declining 3.3% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annualized $3.84, ~1.3% yield).

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 984,832 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,387 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.03% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $340,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company's stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company's stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $345.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.50.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $300.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $315.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.58. The stock has a market cap of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.62. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $275.60 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.

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.