Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Position Raised by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 26.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,682,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,153,644,000 after buying an additional 1,266,484 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 77.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,788,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,483,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,714 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,228,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,055,000 after purchasing an additional 285,497 shares during the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,836,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $575,343,000 after purchasing an additional 55,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,216,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,052,000 after purchasing an additional 152,128 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.11.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $302.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $306.02 and a 200-day moving average of $316.38. The stock has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -604.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $271.01 and a 52-week high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -736.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.