Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Buys New Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 8,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,466,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 2.3%

WTW stock opened at $295.11 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $240.61 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $269.24 and its 200-day moving average is $287.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $351.80.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the purchase, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.