Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Holdings Raised by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 215.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,814 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,024 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $458,662,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter worth approximately $272,790,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $195,043,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,320.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 324,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,403,000 after purchasing an additional 301,493 shares during the period. Finally, Polen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 185.1% during the 1st quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 366,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,872,000 after purchasing an additional 237,953 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.1%

WTW stock opened at $320.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.63. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $292.97 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 17.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTW. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $303.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.67.

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.