Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,991,311 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 98,922 shares during the period. Willis Towers Watson Public accounts for 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public were worth $522,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WTW. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 60,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,879,000 after buying an additional 6,288 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 144,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,802,000 after acquiring an additional 5,702 shares in the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.3% in the second quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 2,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $293.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited has a 1 year low of $201.03 and a 1 year high of $296.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.35 and a 200-day moving average of $267.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.27. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.24% and a return on equity of 16.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 35.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $272.00 to $304.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.73.

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.