Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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 period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.28% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $88,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after buying an additional 7,561,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% in the 3rd 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 raised 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 worth $147,255,000 after acquiring an additional 498,915 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted 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 last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,883,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.1 %

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $330.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $322.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $309.24. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1-year low of $245.04 and a 1-year high of $344.14. The company has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a PE ratio of -330.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

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. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 announced 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. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

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.