Truist Financial Corp Purchases 1,851 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company by 19.1% in Q2, now holding 11,539 shares valued at $3.54 million.
• Willis Towers Watson reported an EPS of $2.86 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 0.2% decline in year-over-year revenue.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock buyback plan, signaling confidence in its stock's value, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.92 per share.

Truist Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 19.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,539 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $343.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $333.72 and a 200 day moving average of $318.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $287.05 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The firm has a market cap of $33.53 billion, a PE ratio of 235.45, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $369.42.

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.

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