O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,894 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 918 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 37,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,847,000 after buying an additional 8,336 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 451,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,388,000 after acquiring an additional 30,303 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 67.2% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 56,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,758,000 after acquiring an additional 22,859 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $1,008,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 74,417 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 7.1 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $308.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -308.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.87. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. 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 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

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.