Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires 38,549 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,291 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,549 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $107,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,372,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,792,000 after purchasing an additional 103,784 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,768 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,151,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,096,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,918,000 after purchasing an additional 58,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 984,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,180,000 after purchasing an additional 30,387 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Truist Financial raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $351.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $263.54 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $272.09 and a 200-day moving average of $299.34. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $240.61 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The company has a market capitalization of $24.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.