Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,162 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.'s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,702,410 shares of the company's stock worth $1,346,782,000 after buying an additional 528,712 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,260,466,000. State Street Corp purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $971,817,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $487,982,000. Finally, Starboard Value LP purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter valued at approximately $443,241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $303.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $267.23.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.5 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $230.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $246.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.69. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52 week low of $187.89 and a 52 week high of $258.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.76.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $6.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.29 by $0.04. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 14.53% and a net margin of 11.38%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 14.58 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $1,269,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,327,106.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $1,269,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,327,106.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.70, for a total value of $740,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,981,835. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.83% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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Willis Towers Watson Plc engages in the provision of advisory, broking, and solutions services. It operates through the following segments: Human Capital and Benefits (HCB), Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (IRR), and Benefits Delivery and Administration (BDA). The HCB segment provides advice, broking, solutions, and software for employee benefit plans, human resources organizations, and management teams.

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