Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New $367,000 Investment in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $484,210,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,484 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,483,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,616,000 after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded down $4.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $296.33. 578,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 591,776. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $253.54 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The company has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -296.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $310.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $318.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The firm 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 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is -736.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.