Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,751 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 112.8% during the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $251.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $252.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a fifty-two week low of $195.29 and a fifty-two week high of $278.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 35.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $312.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.21.

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.