Avanza Fonder AB Acquires New Stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 6,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $295.96 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $311.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $318.87. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $253.03 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $29.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -295.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -736.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $356.30.

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.