Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 3.7% to own 862,629 shares, valued at approximately $291.5 million.
• Several other hedge funds also made significant changes to their positions, with T. Rowe Price boosting its stake by 77.5% during the last quarter.
• Willis Towers Watson reported earnings of $2.86 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, while revenue decreased by 0.2% year-over-year.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 862,629 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,704 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.87% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $291,519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock worth $873,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,004,947 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,286.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 862,869 shares of the company's stock worth $270,284,000 after acquiring an additional 849,358 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth about $195,043,000. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 worth $123,872,000 after acquiring an additional 237,953 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.2%

WTW opened at $330.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $309.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $279.08 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 226.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 note on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $364.55.

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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