Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Bought by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.5% in the first quarter, holding 505,357 shares valued at about $146.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors owning 93.09% of the company, and several firms also recently boosted their positions.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: analysts rate WTW Moderate Buy on average with a target price of $351.80, while the company also posted a quarterly earnings beat and declared a $0.96 quarterly dividend.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 505,357 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,887 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.54% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $146,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company's stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company's stock worth $811,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Willis Towers Watson Public from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.80.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $293.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $240.61 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 2.92 and a quick ratio of 2.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $264.99 and its 200-day moving average is $288.40.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.