Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 4,878 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,129 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,878 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $12,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTW. Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW traded down $4.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $296.33. 578,811 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 591,776. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $253.54 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -296.33, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $310.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $318.63.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -736.00%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTW. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $356.30.

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.