Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Acquires Shares of 840 Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $339.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -339.65, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $339.89. The business’s 50 day moving average is $320.85 and its 200 day moving average is $307.20.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. 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 $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WTW shares. Barclays upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.08.

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.