Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company $WTW

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) by 59.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,007 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 122.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 107 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $330.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company has a twelve month low of $287.05 and a twelve month high of $352.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $335.69 and a 200 day moving average of $318.81. The stock has a market cap of $32.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 226.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company 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.