Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Buys 1,775 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,659 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $337.95 on Tuesday. 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 quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $33.69 billion, a PE ratio of -337.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.01.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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 set 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, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.