Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $7.03 Million in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 26,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,030,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,149,000 after acquiring an additional 57,162 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth approximately $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,108,000 after purchasing an additional 268,536 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.2%

WTW opened at $334.47 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $240.61 and a one year high of $352.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $311.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $289.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.23. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.82 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WTW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $344.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.38.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.