Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,395,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $286.22 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $261.52 and a 200 day moving average of $291.63. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $240.61 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $384.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $350.00.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.