Westpac Banking Corp Boosts Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 106.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,026 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $346.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 7.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $308.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $329.30 and a 200 day moving average of $314.72. The company has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a PE ratio of -308.80, 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -368.00%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.