Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $41.56 Million in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 132,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,559,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Willis Towers Watson Public as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. FMR LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,153,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,055,000 after purchasing an additional 285,497 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $484,210,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,676.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 988,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,616,000 after buying an additional 973,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 604,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,412,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $327.16 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day moving average of $327.11 and a 200-day moving average of $316.19. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -327.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted 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 analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.