Woodline Partners LP Takes $60.39 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP invested $60.39 million in Willis Towers Watson, acquiring 178,694 shares and holding approximately 0.18% of the company.
• The quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.86, exceeding estimates by $0.21, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.2%.
• Willis Towers Watson declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92, with a dividend yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 252.05%.

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 178,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $60,390,000. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.18% of Willis Towers Watson Public at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $362.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.5%

WTW traded down $1.66 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $338.79. 417,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,398. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $286.00 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $321.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

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.