Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Bought by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,579,098 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 62,570 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for 1.6% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 3.67% of Willis Towers Watson Public worth $1,096,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth about $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $319.52 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $332.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.07. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $292.97 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 218.85, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 17.52%.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $373.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.77.

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.