KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 34,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,973,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WTW stock opened at $337.22 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.33. The stock has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -337.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.