KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,438 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.6 %

WTW opened at $329.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $316.60 and a 200 day moving average of $299.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $242.54 and a 12 month high of $334.99. The firm has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -48.35%.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.