Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 4,988 Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,273 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,988 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $7,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 13,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTW. UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $359.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.33.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW stock opened at $317.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $234.88 and a 1 year high of $334.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $308.51 and a 200 day moving average of $288.15. The company has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.62, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently -48.35%.

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.