Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 5,836 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 2.1%, now owning 289,084 shares valued at approximately $88.6 million.
• The company reported earnings per share of $2.86 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.65, along with a revenue of $2.26 billion.
• Willis Towers Watson initiated a $1.5 billion share buyback program, signaling that the board believes the stock is undervalued.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 289,084 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,836 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.29% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $88,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company's stock worth $965,334,000 after acquiring an additional 67,898 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,057,635 shares of the company's stock worth $357,428,000 after acquiring an additional 69,205 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 953,544 shares of the company's stock worth $322,250,000 after acquiring an additional 17,154 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,629 shares of the company's stock worth $291,519,000 after acquiring an additional 30,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,773 shares of the company's stock worth $205,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $336.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $32.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.82, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $334.59 and a 200 day moving average of $318.76. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $287.05 and a 12 month high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.55 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 252.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $369.42.

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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