Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 5,601 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 247,080 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,601 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $67,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTW. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $272.00 to $304.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $296.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:WTW traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $264.32. 326,711 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 453,029. The company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $195.29 and a one year high of $278.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $257.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.36.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.31%.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.