D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 1,976 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 13.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,976 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $293.45 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $240.61 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $264.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $381.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $374.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.80.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.