Trust Investment Advisors Makes New Investment in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WTW. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,706,000 after acquiring an additional 620,926 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,255,000 after purchasing an additional 498,915 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,580,000 after purchasing an additional 457,025 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,883,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,964,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $337.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.66. 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 market capitalization of $33.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Profile

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.