D.A. Davidson & CO. Purchases 7,170 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,672 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $290.11 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $273.59 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $292.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.97. The stock has a market cap of $27.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.51 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $366.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.