Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 455 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 620,926 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings 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 valued at $147,255,000 after purchasing an additional 498,915 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $47,883,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $330.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.53. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $245.04 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a PE ratio of -330.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.