T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Buys 1,217,714 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 77.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,788,542 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 2.77% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $873,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.8 %

WTW traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $299.84. 290,867 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,240. 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 company has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a PE ratio of -300.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $326.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $248.09 and a one year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -736.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.