Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,079,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,808,000 after buying an additional 664,202 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,149,000 after buying an additional 57,162 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,108,000 after buying an additional 268,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.00.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $286.22 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $261.42 and its 200-day moving average is $291.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $240.61 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.