Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 12,802 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,434,062 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,802 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.35% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $3,581,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $337.22 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $344.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $326.63 and its 200 day moving average is $312.33.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.15.

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.