Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 2.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 249,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,892 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $76,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.2% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $328.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a PE ratio of 224.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $319.45. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a 12-month low of $289.12 and a 12-month high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 252.05%.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $369.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup began coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $369.42.

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.