Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires 6,286 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 83.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,811 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,286 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,706,000 after purchasing an additional 620,926 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,255,000 after buying an additional 498,915 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,883,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth about $39,999,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $333.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of WTW opened at $329.83 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.12. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $242.54 and a one year high of $334.99. The company has a market capitalization of $33.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.31, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -48.35%.

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.