Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Buys 40 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,478 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $14,246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WTW. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.6 %

WTW stock opened at $321.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $326.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of -321.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTW. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public 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.