Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Acquired by Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 179.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,550 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,600 shares during the quarter. Willis Towers Watson Public comprises 1.4% of Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $337.22 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $33.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $326.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $312.33. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a one year low of $245.04 and a one year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.