South Shore Capital Advisors Buys New Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• South Shore Capital Advisors bought a new stake of 8,076 WTW shares (~$2.65M) in Q4, making Willis Towers Watson 1.9% of its holdings, and the stock is heavily institutionally owned (about 93.09%).
• Wall Street consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $371.36 (1 Strong Buy, 10 Buy, 5 Hold) after mixed analyst price-target changes.
• WTW beat quarterly estimates (EPS $8.12 vs $7.93; revenue $2.94B vs $2.87B) despite revenue down 3.3% YoY, trades at a P/E of ~17.8, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annual $3.84; yield ~1.3%; ex-dividend Mar 31).

South Shore Capital Advisors bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 8,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,654,000. Willis Towers Watson Public comprises 1.9% of South Shore Capital Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $811,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $392.00 to $358.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.36.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $291.03 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $298.34 and a 200-day moving average of $317.97. The company has a market capitalization of $27.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $275.60 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is 23.44%.

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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