Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Bought by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,798 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Sunriver Management LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Sunriver Management LLC now owns 175,627 shares of the company's stock worth $55,013,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 44,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,043,000 after purchasing an additional 31,643 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $263,000. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at $245,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WTW. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $351.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $303.37. The company had a trading volume of 510,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 581,493. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $248.09 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $320.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.86. 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 capitalization of $30.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -303.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.21%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -736.00%.

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.