Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW) by 21.6%, bringing their total to nearly 20,000 shares valued at approximately $6.73 million.
• The stock has a current price of $333.70 with a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, but has recently seen a decline of 1.5%.
• Willis Towers Watson recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share, with a yield of 1.1%, although its dividend payout ratio is notably high at 252.05%.

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,917 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,536 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $6,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company's stock worth $965,334,000 after buying an additional 67,898 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,057,635 shares of the company's stock worth $357,428,000 after buying an additional 69,205 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock worth $340,461,000 after buying an additional 1,004,947 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 953,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,250,000 after purchasing an additional 17,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 936,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $293,315,000 after purchasing an additional 91,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $362.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.5%

WTW traded up $5.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $336.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,309,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $286.00 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $324.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.62. The company has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.62, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

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.