First Trust Advisors LP Has $43.52 Million Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 750.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,979 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,173 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $43,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter worth $458,662,000. Dodge & Cox acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter worth $391,837,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter worth $272,790,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 80.2% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,038,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,231,000 after purchasing an additional 462,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,320.9% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 324,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,403,000 after purchasing an additional 301,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $289.90 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $312.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $323.35. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a one year low of $275.60 and a one year high of $352.79. The stock has a market cap of $27.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.13 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on WTW shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.14.

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.