Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Holdings Raised by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,935 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $12,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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, Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $367.11.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.4%

WTW traded up $4.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $313.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 445,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 718,190. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $271.01 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $306.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.47. The firm has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -626.21, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.68. 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 (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a positive return on equity of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -736.00%.

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.