Sheets Smith Investment Management Purchases Shares of 4,203 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Sheets Smith Investment Management acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,706,000 after purchasing an additional 620,926 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,255,000 after buying an additional 498,915 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,580,000 after acquiring an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $47,883,000. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $42,964,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $332.71 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $326.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.03. The company has a market capitalization of $33.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -332.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 declared 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 is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.15.

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.