Polen Capital Management LLC Takes $40.28 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Polen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 128,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,278,000. Polen Capital Management LLC owned 0.13% of Willis Towers Watson Public as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $262,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 16,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,707 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 71.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after acquiring an additional 2,775 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.8% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $324.61 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $323.94 and its 200-day moving average is $310.60. The company has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a PE ratio of -324.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.44 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.08.

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.