Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 973,843 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 6,676.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 988,430 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 973,843 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.99% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $309,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,629,439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $772,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,623 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $484,210,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 604,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,412,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 451,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 30,303 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $337.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $328.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.33. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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 an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.