Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Invests $207,000 in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTW. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.5% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $964,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 39.2% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 41,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,248,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $342.08.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.3 %

WTW opened at $339.65 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $339.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -339.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -368.00%.

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.