PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 45.7% in the fourth quarter, holding 20,225 shares valued at about $6.65 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted positions, and institutional ownership stands at 93.09%, showing the stock remains heavily held by hedge funds and other large investors.
• WTW beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $3.72 versus the $3.65 estimate, while revenue rose 8.5% year over year; the company also announced a $0.96 quarterly dividend and analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy on average.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,225 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,340 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $6,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,680,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the company's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,600 shares of the company's stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WTW. Evercore boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke acquired 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $257.40 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.45. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $240.61 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $278.97 and a 200 day moving average of $304.04.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.

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