Comerica Bank grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,832 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Covington Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. WJ Interests LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. 93.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance
Shares of WTW opened at $236.90 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $187.89 and a 52-week high of $258.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $236.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.37.
Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.84%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,000 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.70, for a total transaction of $740,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,050 shares in the company, valued at $20,981,835. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.70, for a total transaction of $740,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,981,835. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $1,269,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,327,106.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages recently weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $303.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $250.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.15.
About Willis Towers Watson Public
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Willis Towers Watson Plc engages in the provision of advisory, broking, and solutions services. It operates through the following segments: Human Capital and Benefits (HCB), Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (IRR), and Benefits Delivery and Administration (BDA). The HCB segment provides advice, broking, solutions, and software for employee benefit plans, human resources organizations, and management teams.