Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 690,210 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,697 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.72% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $226,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after buying an additional 2,353,768 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,038,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,231,000 after buying an additional 462,249 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 745,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,365,000 after buying an additional 269,794 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 546.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 255,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,324,000 after buying an additional 216,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,645.5% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 213,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,612,000 after buying an additional 209,930 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $409.00 to $400.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $351.73.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WTW
Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public
In other news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance
WTW stock opened at $254.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $240.61 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The firm's fifty day moving average is $276.97 and its 200 day moving average is $302.63. The firm has a market cap of $23.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.45.
Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company's revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.52 earnings per share for the current year.
Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.39%.
About Willis Towers Watson Public
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
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).
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