Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Acquired by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,288 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,900 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $11,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,334,000 after purchasing an additional 67,898 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,057,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,428,000 after buying an additional 69,205 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 953,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,250,000 after buying an additional 17,154 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 862,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,519,000 after buying an additional 30,704 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,397,000 after buying an additional 3,087 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $320.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 219.43, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $291.17 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $335.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.56.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.42.

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.