Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson by 85.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 169,579 shares worth around $57.3 million.
• Several analysts have downgraded their price targets for Willis Towers Watson, with Barclays setting a new target of $305 while maintaining an "underweight" rating.
• Willis Towers Watson reported $2.86 earnings per share in its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.65, despite a 0.2% year-over-year revenue decline.

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 85.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,579 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 78,342 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.17% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $57,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth $372,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock worth $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth $2,087,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth $2,302,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 163,797 shares of the company's stock worth $55,355,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $367.11.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $323.00. 64,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 649,730. The stock has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 221.91, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $271.01 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $306.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.30.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public's 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.