Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 216,208 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,876 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.21% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $67,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 35,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,133,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. Rivermont Capital Management LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Rivermont Capital Management LP now owns 91,384 shares of the company's stock worth $28,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Point72 Europe London LLP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 10,300 shares of the company's stock worth $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,303 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 5,728 shares of the company's stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $466,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 price target of $356.30.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of WTW stock traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $309.02. 372,316 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 584,260. The business's fifty day moving average is $318.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a P/E 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 12-month low of $248.09 and a 12-month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -736.00%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.