Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 1,079 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 53,950.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,081 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,079 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,946,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,078,484,000 after buying an additional 98,719 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 9.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 445,775 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,021,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,434,000 after acquiring an additional 25,794 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.4% during the 3rd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,555,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,072,000 after purchasing an additional 653,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4,811.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,472,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442,722 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $255.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. 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 market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $265.93 and a 200-day moving average of $253.75.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 35.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.