Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Raises Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson by 6.3%, acquiring 1,789 additional shares, resulting in a total holding worth approximately $10.17 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Willis Towers Watson, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $364.55.
• Willis Towers Watson reported a net margin of 1.40% and earnings of $2.86 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but revenue decreased by 0.2% year-over-year.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,083 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $10,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 2,737 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,768,000 after buying an additional 2,596 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 11,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $335.72. 407,159 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 707,063. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $311.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $316.86. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $280.86 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.