Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 88,659 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 86.7% in the first quarter, buying 88,659 additional shares and bringing its total position to 190,955 shares worth about $55.47 million.
• Other large institutional investors also increased holdings, and institutions now own 93.09% of Willis Towers Watson Public’s stock, indicating strong interest from professional investors.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $3.72 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $351.80.

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 86.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 190,955 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 88,659 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.20% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $55,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company's stock worth $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company's stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 817,301 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,808,000 after purchasing an additional 664,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.80.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.0%

WTW stock opened at $293.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.11. 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm has a market cap of $27.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

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.

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