Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Acquired by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,330 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,816 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $88,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.6% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 9.6% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 899 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,780,000 after purchasing an additional 8,228 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTW. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $330.89 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a market capitalization of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -330.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $322.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.24.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

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.