Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Purchased by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 52.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,151 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth about $328,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ WTW opened at $320.37 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $291.17 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.25 billion, a PE ratio of 219.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $335.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $319.56.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 252.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.42.

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.