Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 30.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8,200.0% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Motco boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,933.3% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $330.26 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.36. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52 week low of $292.97 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.52%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $383.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $386.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.08.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.