6,988 Shares in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Acquired by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 6,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,142,000. Willis Towers Watson Public makes up approximately 1.5% of Syntax Research Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WTW shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.09.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $345.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 236.84, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 1-year low of $286.35 and a 1-year high of $347.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.