Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $1.45 Million in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 168.8% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth about $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $254.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $195.29 and a 1 year high of $278.86. The stock has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $253.74.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.88 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $317.00 to $311.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $295.54.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following 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 available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.