Prudential PLC Increases Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,810 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,080 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $4,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 116,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,069,000 after buying an additional 7,404 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at $12,318,000. Gillson Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Gillson Capital LP now owns 253,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,166,000 after acquiring an additional 54,361 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 114,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,614,000 after acquiring an additional 12,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,042,000 after acquiring an additional 28,046 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $291.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $277.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $201.41 and a 1 year high of $296.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $2.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $323.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $318.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $310.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.73.

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.