Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 138.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,939 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.4% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,555,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,072,000 after purchasing an additional 653,300 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,410,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,477,000 after buying an additional 445,775 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 201.3% during the third quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 605,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,529,000 after acquiring an additional 404,530 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,532.2% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 424,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,638,000 after acquiring an additional 398,200 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 53.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,117,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,449,000 after purchasing an additional 389,596 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $265.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.74. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $195.29 and a 1 year high of $278.86.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.39. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.88 dividend. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 35.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.