Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Buys New Shares in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 37,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,611,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $47,883,000. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $953,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $311.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -311.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $319.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.19. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $248.09 and a 12-month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.55.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.