Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $587,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,849,000 after buying an additional 2,863 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 637 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 19,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,330,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.6%

WTW stock opened at $297.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $28.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.90. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $273.59 and a 52 week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $398.00 to $409.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.