Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) is Oak Thistle LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Oak Thistle LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 150.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,892 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 1.0% of Oak Thistle LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4,811.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,472,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,217,000 after buying an additional 1,442,722 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $300,782,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $107,010,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,532.2% during the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 424,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,638,000 after buying an additional 398,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $73,185,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $2.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.42. 369,545 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 463,128. The company has a market cap of $26.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $256.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $195.29 and a 12-month high of $278.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $272.00 to $304.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $312.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.14.

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.