Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,273 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,988 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 222.4% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,519 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 84,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,190,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.3% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 445 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Callahan Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.8% during the second quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 13,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,456 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $326.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 2.1 %

WTW stock opened at $317.57 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $308.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.15. The stock has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.62, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $234.88 and a twelve month high of $334.99.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -48.35%.

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.