Greenleaf Trust Takes Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 112.8% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 213.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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 on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3 %

WTW stock opened at $264.48 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $195.29 and a twelve month high of $278.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $270.90 and its 200-day moving average is $250.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.05 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

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

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.