Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company, purchasing 6,811 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million during the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds, including FMR LLC and T. Rowe Price Investment Management, have significantly increased their holdings in Willis Towers Watson, indicating strong institutional interest.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $3.68 and a yield of 1.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 252.05%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,484 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,947 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,286.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 862,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,284,000 after purchasing an additional 849,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $698,055,000 after purchasing an additional 285,497 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $314.77 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $31.21 billion, a PE ratio of 215.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $306.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS 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 business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.