Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $346.38.

WTW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Barclays upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $321.74 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The stock has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -321.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $326.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $315.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $993,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 13,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 30,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.