Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Acquired by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 34.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,436 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 96.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,244 shares of the company's stock worth $2,896,000 after buying an additional 4,548 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,951 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,129,000 after acquiring an additional 9,150 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW traded up $4.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $313.11. 445,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 718,190. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current 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 $271.01 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -626.21, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.