Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 2.5%, owning 260,611 shares valued at approximately $88 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Research analysts have set a consensus target price of $367.11 for Willis Towers Watson, with ratings ranging from one sell to seven buy ratings.
• The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, although revenue declined 0.2% year-over-year.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 260,611 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,404 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.26% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $88,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company's stock worth $340,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,947 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,286.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 862,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,284,000 after buying an additional 849,358 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at about $195,043,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 185.1% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 366,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,872,000 after purchasing an additional 237,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $364.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.2%

WTW traded up $0.50 on Friday, hitting $330.50. The company had a trading volume of 583,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,766. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $309.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $279.08 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 226.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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.