Headlands Technologies LLC Has $6.29 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson by 13.7%, owning 18,606 shares valued at approximately $6.29 million.
• Willis Towers Watson's stock has experienced a 0.3% increase, with a current market cap of $31.76 billion and a PE ratio of 222.97.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.86 for the recent quarter, outperforming estimates and generating revenue of $2.26 billion, albeit a 0.2% decrease from the previous year.

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,606 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $6,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 46,279 shares of the company's stock worth $14,496,000 after acquiring an additional 10,367 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,173 shares of the company's stock worth $5,304,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 91,237 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,579,000 after purchasing an additional 39,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 284,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,154,000 after purchasing an additional 124,100 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $325.54 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.36. The stock has a market cap of $31.76 billion, a PE ratio of 222.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $271.01 and a 12 month high of $344.14.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.11.

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.

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