Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 300,910 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $92,229,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 76.4% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 257,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,810,000 after buying an additional 26,420 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $315.05 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $330.81 and its 200-day moving average is $320.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $30.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 215.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a fifty-two week low of $292.97 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $373.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.62.

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.