Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Bought by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 348 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $5,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.1 %

WTW opened at $337.16 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $328.33 and its 200-day moving average is $313.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. 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 firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.09%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.