Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Purchased by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,488 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $24,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.6 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $319.10 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.02. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of -319.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given 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 a consensus target price of $342.08.

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.