Saxon Interests Inc. Invests $442,000 in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Saxon Interests Inc. acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,831 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 19,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,701,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $275.00. 559,581 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,757. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.45. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 12-month low of $195.29 and a 12-month high of $278.86. The business’s 50-day moving average is $267.46 and its 200-day moving average is $242.87.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 15.70% and a net margin of 11.12%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 33.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price (up from $295.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.54.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.