First Trust Advisors LP Buys 24,758 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 154,214 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,758 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $44,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 690,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,803,000 after buying an additional 10,697 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 20,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,646,000 after buying an additional 6,340 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 945.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 57,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 52,125 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,151,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 158,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $295.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $269.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $286.99. The company has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12 month low of $240.61 and a 12 month high of $352.79.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $283.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.80.

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.