Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Bought by BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.38.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $321.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $326.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $315.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $245.04 and a 52-week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

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.