Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Purchased by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 51.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,519 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.2% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.3% in the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $373.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.77.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.4%

WTW stock opened at $321.61 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $292.97 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 220.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 17.52%.

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.