Insider Buying: Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Insider Buys $499,349.52 in Stock

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $256.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $309.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1 year low of $246.60 and a 1 year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.5 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 Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 817,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,808,000 after purchasing an additional 664,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore upped their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $409.00 to $400.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $352.00.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.