Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $3.39 Million Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 11,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $195,043,000. Polen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 185.1% in the first quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 366,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,872,000 after purchasing an additional 237,953 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at approximately $60,390,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6,618.7% in the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 126,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,846,000 after purchasing an additional 124,894 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 85.9% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 169,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,309,000 after purchasing an additional 78,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $317.54 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.98 billion, a PE ratio of 217.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.73. 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 Limited Company has a twelve month low of $291.17 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.53.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are 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.