Fmr LLC Purchases 1,266,484 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Fmr LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 52.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,682,939 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,266,484 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,153,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WTW. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7,321.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 102,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,197,000 after purchasing an additional 101,401 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $246,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 46,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,496,000 after buying an additional 10,367 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 19,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,162,000 after buying an additional 6,387 shares during the period. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $308.80 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.30 and a 200 day moving average of $315.03. The company has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -308.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $245.04 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.