Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 55.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,631 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 579 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $28,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 168.8% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $253.07 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $195.29 and a 52 week high of $278.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $267.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.39.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $312.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $297.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.54.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.