Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 87 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 324 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $332.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -332.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a twelve month low of $245.04 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $326.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.15.

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.