Trexquant Investment LP Purchases Shares of 39,931 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 39,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,508,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,616,000 after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,580,000 after purchasing an additional 457,025 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,883,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,515.0% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 146,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,890,000 after purchasing an additional 137,422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research 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 stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW opened at $337.43 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.64 billion, a PE ratio of -337.43, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $329.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $314.49.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

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.