Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Purchases 340 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,751 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 8,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in 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 owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW opened at $251.14 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $268.97 and a 200-day moving average of $252.24. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $195.29 and a 12-month high of $278.86. The stock has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.19, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 35.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $318.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $316.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $293.21.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.