Avanza Fonder AB Acquires 2,606 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Avanza Fonder AB grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,128 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $2,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,372,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,928,792,000 after buying an additional 103,784 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,254,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,768 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,279,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,642,000 after purchasing an additional 103,695 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter valued at about $458,662,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,096,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,918,000 after purchasing an additional 58,607 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $318.00 to $341.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $293.36 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 52-week low of $275.60 and a 52-week high of $352.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $304.91 and a 200 day moving average of $320.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.47%.

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.