Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Purchases 181 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,255 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 8,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,844,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $307.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $296.00.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW stock traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $250.59. The company had a trading volume of 85,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,223. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 52-week low of $195.29 and a 52-week high of $278.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $268.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $25.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.75.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 16.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.31%.

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.