Merit Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,087 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 57.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $295.96 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $253.03 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The firm has a market cap of $29.34 billion, a PE ratio of -295.96, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $311.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.87.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -736.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $356.30.

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.