Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Purchased by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 283,248 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.28% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $95,724,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $406,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Sunriver Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 175,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,013,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $299.00. 944,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 593,967. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $309.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -597.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $255.19 and a 1-year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.53% and a negative net margin of 0.54%. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTW. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 a consensus price target of $356.30.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.