Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 6,876 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 216,208 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,876 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $67,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 324 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on WTW shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating 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 report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $356.30.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.3%

WTW traded up $0.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $309.02. 372,316 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 585,610. The company's fifty day moving average price is $317.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of -309.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $248.09 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -736.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.