Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 60,167 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 375,675 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 60,167 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $117,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $309.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $30.64 billion, a PE ratio of -309.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12 month low of $248.09 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $321.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $318.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. 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 dividend yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -736.00%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WTW. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $351.55.

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.